Epic Games is taking a victory lap after its recent court win by asking Apple to put Fortnite back in the App Store and giving players bonus V-bucks if they bypass the iPhone maker’s fees and buy directly from the Epic Games Store. It’s the start of a potential revolution on the App Store, but could also have big consequences for PlayStation and Xbox which also earn commissions on in-game microtransactions.
See, Apple, Sony, and Microsoft take a cut of up to 30 percent of everything you buy through their storefronts. So if you decide to buy Darth Jar Jar on PS5, Sony gets a cut of that, even though the cosmetics, battle passes, and other content are available wherever you play Fortnite thanks to cross-platform progression. But if you buy it on the Epic Games Store, the Fortnite maker gets all of that money. To incentivize people to buy there, it’s going to start giving even more cash back on its in-game currencies purchased directly from the Epic Games Store.
“Starting today, when you make a purchase in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys using Epic’s payment system globally on PC, iOS, Android, and the web, you’ll get 20 percent back in Epic Rewards,” the company announced on Friday. “You can spend your rewards in Fortnite and our other games, or on the Epic Games Store when you use Epic’s payment system. These 20 percent rewards in Epic’s games are here to stay.”
Alongside that new policy is a similar but temporary 20 percent cash back bonus on all Epic Games Store game purchases, including from third parties. That runs until August 31. So if you buy, say, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for $50, you’ll get $10 back to spend on other stuff. Epic is apparently feeling a bit generous after a federal judge recently ruled against Apple, forcing it to allow app makers to link directly to their webstores through their iPhone apps.
Apple is supposed to comply even while it’s appealing. In the meantime, Epic’s ongoing feud with the App Store is netting everyone else some extra bonus rewards.
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