Google Could Miss Out On Millions From 'Fortnite' Snubbing Play Store On Android

The long-anticipated launch of “Fortnite” on Android devices got underway on Thursday. As expected, it is a timed exclusive to certain Samsung devices and, unusually, cannot be accessed through the Google Play store like most Android games and apps.

A new report from mobile app metrics company SensorTower pointed out how costly it will be for Google to miss out on the popular video game.

Developer Epic Games decided to make Android players visit a website to get a download invite for “Fortnite” is simple: Games and apps sold through the Play store only get 70 percent of the money. The rest goes to Google. Apple utilizes the same rate structure for games and apps on iOS.

Based on an estimated $54 million that Apple has collected from “Fortnite” launching on the App Store earlier this year, SensorTower believes Google could lose out on $50 million between launch and the new year. That could be a low estimate since Android has significantly higher market share than iOS. There are also countries where Google Play is not supported, where players could still play the game directly through Epic.

Epic would rather get that extra 30 percent than go through Google. Google, likewise, might not want to be known as the one gaming platform devoid of “Fortnite.” The good news for Google is that the search engine and mobile OS giant still posted more than $100 billion in revenue in 2017, easing the pain of missing out on "Fortnite" losses.

Since its launch last year, “Fortnite” has grown to massive proportions. The last-man-standing battle royale game hit 125 million players in June, as by then it existed on every current gaming platform except Android. “Fortnite” is completely free to play, with all of its revenue coming from regular “battle passes” players can buy to unlock new cosmetic items, as well as separate cosmetic items that cycle through the in-game store.

Market research in July found that “Fortnite” had generated $1 billion in revenue just from sales of in-game costumes and the like alone. It receives at least $2 million in revenue from the mobile versions of the game.