Epic Store Still Struggling

Epic’s mobile games store is expanding slowly, even as the company keeps winning openings in court and with regulators. The store launched on Android worldwide and on iPhones only in the European Union on August 15, 2024. (epicgames.com) Epic started mobile with three in-house games: Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League Sideswipe. It did not add its first wave of nearly 20 third-party mobile titles until January 23, 2025, when it also began a free-games program on Android worldwide and iOS in the European Union. (epicgames.com) Epic had aimed for 100 million new mobile installs by the end of 2024, according to comments from Epic Games Store general manager Steve Allison at launch. By June 3, 2025, Allison said the mobile store had reached 40 million installs and that Epic was now targeting 70 million by the end of 2025. (gameworldobserver.com, pocketgamer.biz) The gap between installs and spending is central to Epic’s pitch. Epic’s own 2025 year-in-review highlighted record spending and engagement on PC, including $400 million spent on third-party PC games and 78 million monthly active users on PC, but it did not publish comparable mobile spending figures in that report. (store.epicgames.com) That uneven progress sits beside a broader legal campaign against Apple and Google over app-store fees and payment rules. In Australia, the Federal Court ruled on August 12, 2025 that Apple and Google had misused market power by restricting alternative app distribution and in-app payment methods on mobile devices. (gtlaw.com.au) That case is still moving on remedies. On April 21, 2026, Australia’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, was granted leave to intervene in the Epic v. Apple proceedings on what relief the court should order, with a hearing continuing the following week. (startupdaily.net) Epic argues platform rules still slow adoption. At launch, the company said installing its mobile store was “lengthy” because of multiple steps, device settings, and warning screens on iOS and Android. (epicgames.com) Apple says alternative app marketplaces in the European Union are allowed, but only under its new system. Apple’s developer documentation says marketplace apps must meet notarization requirements, can only be installed from the marketplace developer’s website, and require user approval in Settings. (developer.apple.com) Google has framed its own extra friction as a safety measure. In a March 19, 2026 post, Google said Android’s new sideloading flow for unverified developers includes a one-day waiting period, a restart, and biometric or PIN confirmation before installation. (android-developers.googleblog.com) Epic is still building out the product underneath that legal fight. Allison said in June 2025 that the store had more than 70 games on mobile, with self-publishing tools planned for later in 2025 and iPhone expansion expected in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Japan as laws changed. (pocketgamer.biz) For now, Epic has shown it can get users to install a mobile store for Fortnite, free games, and promotions. The harder part is turning those openings into the kind of paid, third-party mobile marketplace that Epic already reports on in detail for PC. (epicgames.com, store.epicgames.com)