Epic Games mobile app replaces Fortnite installer on Android

Hit battle royale game Fortnite is available on just about every platform you own: PC, gaming consoles, and mobile devices. Though nothing about that is changing, Epic announced a small update today that'll change how the game's icon looks on Android. Going forward, the Fortnite installer has been replaced with the Epic Games mobile app, mirroring what you see on PC.

Epic Games was criticized when it announced that Fortnite Mobile on Android wouldn't be made available through the Google Play Store — instead, players must visit the Fortnite website using their Android devices or scan a QR code on the company's desktop website, which provides the game apk.

In a tweet today, Epic announced that while nothing about this has changed, the Fortnite installer has been replaced. Instead of seeing the Fortnite icon with a character from the game, Android players will now directly download the Epic Games mobile app, which will be used to install Fortnite on Android.

This is similar to how players get the game on PC. Rather than installing the game through Steam, Epic Games decided to launch its own store called the Epic Games Store; PC players must download this, which then makes it possible to download and launch Fortnite.

The new Android download method follows Epic's confirmation that it will bring the Epic Games Store to Android sometime this year. The decision to have Android users directly download the Epic Games app in order to install Fortnite appears to be a step in that direction.