Update: What a day! Apple quite swiftly removed the game from the App Store, while Google has yet to respond. Epic responded by filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and screening a new cartoon in its Party Royale game mode called Ninteen Eighty Fortnite, which called upon players to enter the scuffle by using the hashtag #FreeFortnite. It's getting weird.
Original Story: Epic Games has cut the price of V-Bucks, Fortnite's in-game currency, by 20% for all platforms. The company has also added a direct payment option as a response to mobile platform's "exorbitant" fees.
In a blog post on the company's website, Epic explained how it will work. On most platforms, Xbox, PS4, Switch, and PC, the prices are simply reduced by 20% across the board. 1,000 V-Bucks, for example, now runs $7.99 instead of $9.99, while the largest pack including 13,500 V-Bucks, which was one $99.99, is now down to $79.99. All other bundles are similarly marked down.
On mobile, the process is slightly different. Players must elect to pay "directly" to Epic at the new reduced prices, or else pay the prior standard prices due to Google and Apple's 30% cut of all in-game purchases. By offering a direct payment, Epic says it can pass the savings onto players. Seemingly calling out the mobile giants, Epic added that it would reconsider the deal if Apple and Google lower their fees.
The move could send multiple shockwaves through the industry. For one, it could inspire other games to reduce their own prices of in-game currency. As most games selling currency operate on a similar exchange rate of $10 being equivalent to 1,000 in-game credits, Fortnite's reduction changes that math solely in its own favor for now. Other games may be moved to price match them.
Then there's also the fact that Fortnite is huge on mobile and it's not totally understood how they can get away with just circumventing the platform holder's fees. Assumedly, Epic is big enough and well-structured enough to handle its own transactions in a way that most studios can't, but there will be others willing to try too. Could we see a revolt on the mobile market and if so, how will Apple and Google respond?
