Update 2 (11/18/19 @ 1:10 AM ET): Epic Games Store has finally gone live on Android as a new title 'Battle Breakers' joins Fortnite.
Update 1 (10/24/19 @ 2:50 PM ET): It's been a while in the making, but the Epic Games Store seems to finally be coming to Android. The article as published on December 4, 2018, is preserved as below.
When Fortnite arrived on Android, there was a lot of speculation as to where it would end up. Early reports indicated that it would forego the Google Play Store entirely, which did turn out to be true. Instead, Epic Games melded a partnership with Samsung, offering the application exclusively on the Galaxy Apps store. Following the end of that exclusivity deal, Epic Games allowed users to download Fortnite from their own website. That opened the door to the possibility of finding tons of unofficial APKs online.
Now Epic Games has announced their own application store, with one big attraction: developers will get 88% of revenue generated by their app. This means that the company will only take 12% of all profits. To contrast, the Google Play Store will earn developers 70% of all revenue generated, with 30% going to Google. What's more, if you're using Unreal Engine, then the 5% engine royalty will be taken out of Epic's 12% profit, not your 88%.
Of course, the Epic Games store is being aimed entirely at gamers. It will open up in early 2019 with a set of curated games that run on PC and Mac, with it opening up to Android and other open platforms later on in the year. There are a number of principles that the store will operate on, and all of them are set on establishing a shared space for both developers, content creators, and gamers alike. Creators like YouTubers and Twitch streamers will be able to refer players to buy games on the store, where creators can earn money. To jumpstart the economy, Epic Games will cover the first 5% of creator revenue-sharing for the first 24 months of the service.
If you're wondering whether you'll only be allowed to release games running the Unreal Engine, don't worry. The first set of curated games will run on other engines like Unity. Developers need not worry about advertisements being shown on their game pages either. There will be no store-placed ads or cross-marketing of competing games on your page, and no paid ads in search results.
The company has said that they will reveal more details on December 6th, at The Game Awards in Los Angeles.
Source: Epic Games
Update: Launching Soon
Today, Epic announced that the Fortnite Installer for Android is now the Epic Games app. Right now, it's still just an installer for Fortnite. Only the name and icon have been changed. However, this is a clear sign that the full Epic Games Store will be launching soon on Android. We will update this post when that happens.
Update 2: Epic Games Store goes live on Android with new title 'Battle Breakers'
The Epic Games Store is now finally live on Android, bringing along Epic's newest title Battle Breakers with itself.
Battle Breakers is now available for everyone on PC on the Epic Games Store, iOS on the App Store, and Android in the Epic Games app and the Samsung Galaxy Store. As a special launch bonus, players who beat the tutorial within the first two weeks of the launch can claim the Dark Beastman hero.
Source: Epic