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Google Removes Android Version of Fortnite from Google Play Store

The company is following Apple in pulling the popular title after Epic Games decided to add a direct payment option in Fortnite, which can deny both Google and Apple a cut of the revenues.

Michael Kan
 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Google is joining Apple and also booting Fortnite from the company’s Android app store, Google Play. 

The company did so on Thursday after Epic Games added a direct payment option in both the iOS and Android versions of Fortnite, bypassing the need to pay Apple and Google a 30 percent cut on all in-app purchases. 

Earlier today, Apple removed the game from the iOS app store, saying the in-app purchase option broke the company’s rules. Now Google is using the same justification in pulling Fortnite from its own app store. 

“For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users,” Google told PCMag in a statement. 

But unlike the iOS ecosystem, users on Android can still download and install Fortnite without Google’s official app store. Interested gamers simply need to head over to the Fortnite website and sideload the game by following a few steps.   

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Google added: “While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play."

We’ve reached out to Epic Games for comment. But in the case of Apple, the gaming company decided to respond to the takedown with an antitrust lawsuit. Epic Games is now claiming Cupertino has a monopoly through the iOS app store, which is the sole way iPhone and iPad owners can download apps (unless they jailbreak the device).  

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“Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100 percent monopoly over the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market,” Epic Games said in its lawsuit.

The same antitrust argument would be harder to make against Google, which pointed out: "The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores."


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About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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