As reported previously by the Telegraph and Fortune, It appears that one of the world’s most popular games, Fortnite will not be making use of the Google play store. The massively popular game by Epic Games has also decided not to make use of the Steam platform as well. Another gaming giant, Bethesda seems to follow suit and has announced that they will not launch the highly anticipated Fallout 76 on Steam.
This seems to be a growing trend in the world of gaming, with more and more developers abandoning the traditional online game stores. Blizzard studios or EA might have started the trend by releasing their own platforms years ago. So far, this move by developers has not dented their game’s popularity or reach, with millions still playing Fortnite and many still hyped for Fallout 76.
While it is currently unknown where Fortnite will be released on android, Bethesda will launch the PC version of Fallout 76 only on Bethesda’s official website.
Both studios, Epic Games & Bethesda have apparently abandoned traditional online stores to avoid the high 30% fees on transactions both Steam & Google Play store take.
While other big studios may continue the trend and avoid stores such as Google Play & Steam, it is unlikely that smaller studios will not follow suit. Many mid-size and small developers need the press and exposure that these stores offer. This is because smaller and mid-size studios do not have the marketing budget for exposure.
Game Protocol plans on improving conditions for mid-sized and smaller studios by releasing our own decentralized game store. Our store will only charge a 10% fee on transactions, which will improve conditions for game developers around the world.
