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CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters that he is happy the EU held Apple and Google’s ‘feet to the fire’ to ensure they can’t obstruct competition.
Popular mobile gaming titles such as Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe are coming to iPhones in the EU after creator Epic Games launched a new store in the bloc.
In an announcement, the US video game company said that its Epic Games Store is now available for download on iPhones in the EU and Android devices globally. The games are also available on third-party app store AltStore.
The move follows a long legal battle between Epic and tech giants Apple and Google, with the gaming company criticising them for unfair app store rules. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters recently that he was grateful to the European Commission for passing the Digital Markets Act, which aims to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour among Big Tech companies.
Sweeney said that the EU has held Apple and Google’s “feet to the fire” to ensure they can’t obstruct competition. “They were going to great efforts to slow us down, and tried to stop us several times, and the European Commission always stepped up and ensured that competitors were able to enter the market.”
Epic first confirmed Fortnite and other titles would return to iOS devices in the EU last month, as well as on third-party app stores “that give all developers a fair deal”.
At the same time, Epic said the games were leaving the Samsung Galaxy Store in protest against their new policy of “blocking sideloading by default”. Samsung users now have to go into their settings to turn off the Auto Blocker option.
Epic claimed the change obstructs users from installing competing stores, an issue Epic fought and won in an antitrust settlement with Google last year.
Last month, Epic Games said Apple approved its app store submission for iOS devices after initially rejecting it. Epic had previously accused Apple of unfairly blocking its attempts to launch a dedicated Epic Games Store for iOS devices.
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