Epic Games is rolling out major updates to its store in a bid to attract more developers and challenge Apple’s dominance over in-app payments.
The announcement comes just a day after a major court ruling that blocks Apple from charging fees on payments made outside its App Store and from limiting apps that direct users to external payment methods.
Starting in June, Epic will allow developers to keep 100% of their first $1 million in annual revenue per app from purchases made through the Epic Games Store, according to a company blog post. After that threshold, Epic’s standard 88/12 revenue split kicks in. In comparison, Apple and Google offer a 15% commission for the same earnings range, making Epic’s offer more generous.
Epic is also launching webshops, custom online storefronts hosted by the Epic Games Store. These will let developers offer out-of-app purchases, avoiding platform fees from Apple, Google, and others. To encourage players to use webshops, Epic is offering 5% back in Epic Rewards on all purchases, which users can apply to future buys.
Additionally, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed that Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store in the U.S. next week, after being banned in 2020 due to a dispute over Apple’s payment rules.
