If you’ve been sideloading Fortnite on Android or jumping through hoops with the Epic Games app, you can put all that behind you. Epic confirmed this week that the Fortnite Google Play Store return is going global on March 19, nearly six years after the game was booted off the platform.
Epic announced the news on X with a simple message: “No matter where you are, we’ve got you covered.” March 19 is also when Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 kicks off. So, the global rollout doubles as a fresh-start moment for the game. The full package is available too, including Battle Royale, Lego Fortnite, Fortnite OG, Festival, and creator modes.
How it got here
Fortnite was pulled from the Fortnite Google Play Store in 2020 after Epic deliberately bypassed Google’s 30% cut on in-app purchases by adding its own direct payment system to the game. Google removed it immediately. What followed was years of antitrust litigation that eventually went Epic’s way. The two companies reached a settlement in late 2025. Google agreed to drop its revenue share from 30% down to 20% and open Android to third-party app stores more easily.
Fortnite made a limited comeback in the US in December, and the Epic Games app went worldwide on Google Play in January. Thursday’s global Fortnite rollout is the last step. Players outside the US have been stuck sideloading or using the Epic Games Store app to play. However, now they will now be able to grab it directly from Google Play like any other game. Plus they will also get automatic updates.
There is one thing worth knowing before you jump back in. Epic is also rolling out a V-Bucks price increase on March 19. A standard 1,000 V-Bucks pack will now only deliver 800 V-Bucks for the same price. This has already generated plenty of pushback online. That being said, six years is a long time to wait for a game to return to the app store. But we suppose better late than never.