Epic Games, the popular developer of titles like Fortnite, sued Google a few years ago accusing it of exercising a monopoly on Android by forcing the use of payment methods in its Play Store. This implied a commission of up to 30% on any sale made. In an American ruling that affects other countries, such as Spain, the responsible judge has ruled in favor of the video game company, despite the fact that there are other lawsuits underway.
This explains the move announced today for which Telefónica has partnered with Epic Games to pre-install the company’s store on all mobile phones that sells in the countries in which it is present, under one brand or another. Let’s not forget that in Spain, for example, Movistar is the operator that sells mobile phones, but in other markets such as the United Kingdom the Spanish company is present through its subsidiary O2.
This is not the first association between both companies because already in 2020 Movistar allowed the payment of purchases within Fortnite using the operator’s monthly invoice. With the new agreement, the Epic Games store will be available in Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. In addition, from 2025 collaboration between both companies will increase, although it has not been specified in what way.
This agreement is beneficial for both companies. On the one hand, Epic Games gets a huge showcase for your current and future titles, by pre-installing your app store on millions of Android devices. For your part the operator ensures income without having to make large investments.
Lorena Senator-Gómez, Director of Alliances and Devices at Telefónica, indicated that with this collaboration they took “one more step to offer high-quality, accessible and innovative digital experiences to our customers.” Michael Modon, Senior Director of Alliances for Growth at Epic Games pointed in the same direction, indicating that they were “looking forward to expanding our collaboration with Telefónica to offer even more benefits to players.”
This movement is reminiscent of the first era of Android when operators could customize their devices very aggressively, not only with dozens of pre-installed applications, but with different limitations, changes in aesthetics, etc. We do not know if this trend will become common again or if agreements like the one signed today will remain an anecdote for Android users.
