'Fortnite' Android: Samsung to Use Own App Store to Give Epic a Deal

It came out at the end of July that Samsung and Epic Games made a deal to make the Android version of Fortnite: Battle Royale a timed exclusive for the Galaxy Note 9 and other Samsung smartphones. If that wasn’t enough to fire people up, the news last week was the game would not show up on Google Play, creating possible security issues, but Samsung may have a solution benefitting both companies.

A report from XDA Developers Monday found proof of Fortnite: Battle Royale coming to Samsung Galaxy Apps, the phone maker’s own app store. In the game’s installer APK, there are multiple pieces of code referencing Samsung billing. There’s also a requirement for the latest version of the Galaxy Apps store to be installed. Having this requirement could mean that if those non-Samsung Android phone owners get their hands on the Fortnite: Battle Royale APK, they will not be able to install the game unless there’s a workaround.

This shows the original assumption of gamers downloading the app from Epic directly may not be the case. In a way, this makes the app safer than some assumed as it will still require users to download from a “store” rather than downloading the game from Epic’s website, which could have been used by hackers and scammers.

The news also means in-game purchases will go through Samsung. It’s a standard process of going through the respective platform to pay for items in the game, which in the case of Fortnite: Battle Royale. Also, with the game being available in the Samsung Galaxy App store, it means the two companies came to an agreement that will either greatly reduce the “store” fee, which was an issue Epic had with Google Play. Since Galaxy Note 9 users will supposedly have first dibs on the game, XDA also confirmed those who pre-order the smartphone will receive 15,000 V-Bucks, or approximately $150.

As of right now, the Fortnite: Battle Royale exclusivity for Samsung smartphones is still not confirmed by Samsung or Epic. Everyone will have to wait until August 9 when Samsung holds its Galaxy Note 9 event for all the details.

When Fortnite: Battle Royale finally does become available for everyone with an Android phone, there will be certain spec requirements to play the game, which 40 phones currently meet.

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