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The next major bloatware app on your Android phone is the Epic Games Store
- Epic and Telefonica have announced that the Epic Games Store will be preinstalled on millions of Android phones.
- This will allow Android phone owners in Europe and Latin America to more easily download Fortnite and several other titles.
- However, this could be the third app store on many smartphones, following the Play Store and OEM app stores.
Fortnite isn’t available on the Google Play Store, but Android phone users can download the game via the Epic Games Store app. Now, Epic has announced that this store will be preinstalled on loads of Android phones.
Epic and carrier giant Telefonica announced that the Epic Games Store will be preloaded on “millions” of Android phones:
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.
The two companies said this was just the start and that they plan to expand the deal over the next year to “bring more benefits to mobile players across the Telefónica network.”
This should make it much easier for smartphone owners to play Fortnite without resorting to sideloading the Epic Games Store app in the first place. The store also offers easy access to Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, with Epic adding that it will support third-party titles in the future.
On the other hand, you can also argue this is a high-profile case of bloatware coming to millions of Android phone users without their consent. Many smartphone brands already offer their own app stores in addition to the Play Store, so the addition of a third app store out-of-the-box seems particularly egregious.