[wldlyinaccurate]

Doesn't Android have the same problem? If your app isn't in the Play Store, it may as well not exist.

[Wowfunhappy]

No, because you can sideload Android apps. Fortnite for Android isn't in the Play Store, and it definitely exists.

[jackvalentine]

They capitulated and it’s now on the Play Store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.epicgames....

[Wowfunhappy]

Whoops, thanks, guess I was out of date! Still, Fortnite was sideload-only for a while, and that's a major game.

[jackvalentine]

Yeah I think we can draw a bit of a line from they were a major game not on the Play Store and now they're a major game on the Play Store - my guess is barely anyone sideloaded it.

[Wowfunhappy]

Well, or that because the game was being sideloaded a lot, Google offered Epic a special deal.

[jackvalentine]

This is not the case. It’s a full capitulation on Epic’s part.

https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/21/21229930/fortnite-availabl...

[flobosg]

There are alternative software repositories, such as F-Droid.

[IanCal]

I think they've faced antitrust things around the dominance of the app store, however do they actually do the same thing as apple here? I can find a story online of tinder switching to asking users to enter their credit card details in the app.

[dylz]

A large part of the world (China) runs their own app stores for Android.

[SpaceRaccoon]

You can download alternative app stores. For example, here is the Yandex app store: https://store.yandex.com/

[jacobwilliamroy]

It's easier to share android apps. I dont need any extra tools to run non-playstore apps on an android.