Epic Games announced that the Epic Games Store can now be downloaded on iPhone in Brazil directly from Epic’s website. The company warns, however, that Apple’s mandated installation process involves nine steps and presents screens that caution users about the risks of installing apps outside the App Store.
Fortnite on iPhone in Brazil: installation flow and limits
Epic says Apple requires a nine-step installation flow for alternative app stores in Brazil, including additional warning screens that Epic claims are intended to dissuade users from sideloading apps and to hinder competition. In 2023, following regulatory pressure, Apple reduced a similar EU installation flow from 15 to 6 steps; Epic reported that simplification produced a 60% drop in player abandonment during attempts to install the Epic Games Store. Epic alleges that the expanded process in Brazil is designed to blunt competitive alternatives.
Fees that limit available games
Epic also criticizes Apple’s 5% “Core Technology Commission,” which Apple is charging on sales of digital goods and services made through third‑party app stores and apps installed from those stores. As a result, Epic says it is currently offering only its own titles on the iOS version distributed via its Brazilian store: players can download Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe.
Commercial incentives and regulatory appeals
To incentivize purchases through the Epic Games Store, Brazilian customers who buy Fortnite via that channel receive 20% back in Epic Rewards — a bonus not offered for the App Store version of Fortnite in Brazil. Epic also says it has informed Brazilian regulators “how detrimental the requirements and restrictions are to creating a competitive mobile app ecosystem on iOS.”
Apple updated App Store rules in June to comply with a regulatory directive requiring support for alternative marketplaces in Brazil. Epic is now highlighting the practical effects of those changes, pointing to added friction and costs for developers and users.
The launch of the Epic Games Store on iPhone in Brazil renews the debate over platform openness, user experience and commission models, and places Brazilian regulators at the center of the conversation about mobile competition.
