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It’s once again possible to play “Fortnite” on your iPhone (or any iOS device for that matter). On Thursday, Microsoft announced that the popular battle royale is now free to play on a mobile browser via Xbox’s cloud gaming service, which allows players to stream games directly to their devices.
Microsoft’s partnership with “Fortnite”-maker Epic Games eschews Apple’s App Store, which superseded “Fortnite” in 2020, when Epic allowed players to pay directly, with Apple’s take on all in-app purchases. 30 percent commission bypassed. Epic sued Apple over the tech giant’s business model, and the suit became a landmark case for how people pay for services on their phones. Last year, a federal judge ruled that Apple should allow app developers to “run” customers to alternative payment processing services, but ruled that Epic failed to prove that Apple is a monopoly.
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“Fortnite” is one of the most popular games of all time and it’s still not available to download on Apple’s App Store or Google Play store. Epic and Apple both appealed the ruling last year, and Epic has a separate case against Google for its Google Play store. Apple has said it will not allow “Fortnite” to return to its stores until a final decision in the matter. Now using Microsoft’s cloud service, all you need to play “Fortnite” is an account with Microsoft, and a device that can browse the Internet. There are no subscription fees or apps to install.
Epic Games declined to answer questions about the partnership. A Microsoft spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. On Twitter, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the partnership “commemorative news,” referencing specifically that the streaming set-up will work around Apple’s payment system.
Memorial News Everyone! Fortnite is now available to play for free streaming on a web browser on iPhone, iPad and Android via Xbox Cloud. No subscription required, no 30% Apple tax. https://t.co/eHs1Xvh6D2
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) 5 May 2022
It’s unclear whether Microsoft will charge a commission for any in-game purchases made through its cloud service. Florian Ederer, an associate professor of economics at the Yale School of Management, wrote in an email that this partnership is “a huge opportunity” for Microsoft to build on the existing list of games available to stream. That said, Ederer said that a player’s gameplay experience can never be as good as on an app.
“Given the internet connections of most players, the arrangement is still sub-optimal,” Ederer wrote. “It may be less of a threat to Apple because gamers may not be willing to accept the high latency and poor graphics of cloud-based gaming.”
Last April, Epic Games decided against offering “Fortnite” on Microsoft’s Game Cloud service because the developer originally envisioned the platform as a competitor to Epic’s own digital game store, according to a report in The Verge. Was. Ederer told The Post that Epic’s decision not to work with Microsoft at the time reinforced his argument that Apple owned a market that kept him out.
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“Fortnite” is the first free-to-play game offered on Xbox’s cloud gaming service. Until now, as with other streaming entertainment services, players had to pay a monthly fee to access Microsoft’s library of games. In a statement on its website announcing the partnership with Epic Games, Microsoft said the company plans to continue adding more free-to-play titles to its library of cloud-based games.
“We want to make gaming accessible to 3 billion players around the world, and the cloud has an important role to play in that mission,” the statement said. “Quite simply we want you to have more choice both in the games you play and the way you choose to play them.”
Shannon Liao and Jean Park contributed to this report.
