Epic Games Store coming to ‘millions’ of Android phones in Telefónica deal

Ben Schoon | Dec 12 2024 - 5:25 am PT

After winning its battle with Google, Epic Games has announced a deal with carrier Telefónica which it says will result in the Epic Games Store being pre-loaded on “millions” of Android phones.

Announced on the Epic Games Newsroom, a deal between the company and Telefónica will see “all” new Android devices sold by the carrier pre-loaded with the Epic Games Store. This will allow users to download games, including Fortnite and Fall Guys, from the store without sideloading. This will happen for devices sold in Spain, the UK, Germany, and parts of Latin America.

Epic explains:

Telefónica, one of the largest telecommunications service providers in the world, and Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, today announced a long term partnership to make Fortnite and the Epic Games Store more accessible on millions of Telefónica Android devices. As a first step in this partnership, the Epic Games Store will now be pre-installed on all new compatible Android devices on the Telefónica network in Spain, UK, Germany and Spanish-speaking Latam. Players will now be able to more easily download Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe as well as third party games in the future.

This is exactly the kind of deal that Epic has been pursuing for years. In 2020, it was revealed that Google had blocked Android OEMs including LG and OnePlus from finalizing deals with Epic that would have seen their devices with the Epic Games app pre-loaded.