Google offered Epic Games $147 million to launch Fortnite in the Google Play store

Google offered Epic Games $147 million for the game developer to launch the popular shooter Fortnite in the Google Play store for Android, writes The Verge.

This became known during the court case between Google and Epic. The tech giant’s offer stipulated that the developer would receive money within three years. The payment period was supposed to end in 2021. However, Epic rejected a potential deal with Google.

This agreement had its own purpose. It was supposed to stop the potential “distribution” of popular apps bypassing Google Play, as Google could lose commission for in-game payments.

The tech giant feared that other game developers such as Blizzard, Valve, Sony, and Nintendo would follow Epic Games’ lead. It could have cost Google billions of dollars. The absence of Fortnite was estimated at a loss of $130 to $250 million in revenue. And the massive “departure” of leading developers could cost the company up to $3.6 billion.

As you know, Epic Games launched Fortnite on Android in 2018 directly through its website, bypassing the Play Store. This allowed it to sell the game currency V-Bucks without paying a commission to Google. However, in 2020, the developer eventually relented and launched the game on Google Play.