Epic Games Store Launches on iPhones in Brazil With Fortnite

The Epic Games Store is now downloadable on iPhones in Brazil, and Fortnite is playable on iOS in the country through it. Epic Games launched the store carrying Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe, with players installing it directly from Epic’s website rather than through Apple’s App Store.

The launch is the first real-world test of the alternative app marketplace regime Apple set up in Brazil after reaching an agreement with the country’s competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE). Apple detailed that framework on June 18, 2026: alternative marketplaces must be authorized by Apple, every app they carry goes through a baseline review called Notarization, and apps distributed outside the App Store pay Apple a 5 percent Core Technology Commission on sales of digital goods and services.

Epic used its launch announcement to argue that Apple’s compliance is designed to fail. The company says installing an alternative store in Brazil takes nine steps of warning screens and settings toggles, that Apple bans alternative stores from iPads entirely, and that developers must report every transaction made on a third-party store to Apple, including purchases that were never completed. Epic says it has shared those objections with CADE directly.

What the Install Actually Looks Like

The install-flow comparison is the most concrete evidence Epic put forward, because the company has now run the same launch in three regulated markets and can measure the difference. When the Epic Games Store launched in the European Union under the Digital Markets Act, Apple required a 15-step installation process. After regulatory pressure, Apple cut that to six screens, and Epic says player drop-off during install attempts fell 60 percent.

In Brazil, Epic says the flow is back up to nine steps. Players who start the download are routed into their device settings to explicitly select “Allow Epic Games Inc to Install an App Marketplace” before the store can proceed, according to Epic’s player-facing launch post. Each additional screen is a point where a player who intended to install the store gives up, and Epic’s EU data point is its argument that the screens’ real function is deterrence rather than disclosure.

Apple’s stated position is that the friction is protection. In its June 18, 2026 newsroom post, the company said apps downloaded outside the App Store “will not benefit from the same protections Apple provides through App Review,” and that Notarization (a mix of automated checks and human review covering basic functionality and known malware) is deliberately less comprehensive than full App Review. Apple framed the warning screens and authorization requirements as safeguards against scams, fraud, and malware, with particular emphasis on risks to younger users.

The Fees Epic Pays in Brazil

Under Apple’s published Brazil terms, developers distributing through the App Store pay either 10 percent or 21 percent commission on digital-goods transactions, with Apple In-App Purchase costing an additional 5 percent. Apps distributed outside the App Store instead pay the 5 percent Core Technology Commission — the same structure Apple applied in Japan, where Epic launched its store on iPhones on April 30, 2026 under that country’s Mobile Software Competition Act.

Epic’s objection is less the percentage than the reporting obligations attached to it. Developers must track and report all transactions on their own stores to Apple, including incomplete ones — which Epic says forces developers to hand sensitive business information to a direct competitor and take on costly compliance work. Citing those requirements, Epic is launching in Brazil with only its own games, the same posture it took in Japan, where it said the fee and reporting structure deterred third-party developers from joining the store.

Epic is using price to make the contrast tangible for players. Fortnite purchases made through the Epic Games Store in Brazil earn 20 percent back in Epic Rewards, which Epic describes as “a discount Apple’s rules prevent us from offering you on the App Store in Brazil.”

Three Markets, One Playbook

Brazil is Epic’s third regulated iOS market, and the pattern across them is now the story. The EU came first, under the Digital Markets Act, with the 15-step install flow later reduced to six. Japan followed on April 30, 2026, after the Mobile Software Competition Act required Apple to open iOS to third-party stores. Apple added three screens beyond the EU flow there, and Epic publicly urged the Japan Fair Trade Commission to “rigorously enforce the law.” In that same April post, Epic said it would bring the store to Brazil in June; the store ultimately arrived on July 30, 2026.

Each market has produced the same split: regulators force the door open, Apple builds a compliance framework around authorization, Notarization, and a commission on outside sales, and Epic launches while arguing the framework neutralizes the opening. Apple’s Brazil post closes by saying it “will continue to engage with regulators on strengthening protections for iOS users.” Epic’s closes by calling on “Brazil and governments around the globe” to “take strong action to open up the mobile app ecosystem for developers and consumers.”

What changes hands next is CADE’s response. Epic has formally raised its objections to the Brazilian regulator, and Apple’s agreement with CADE is the mechanism that would be revisited if the regulator acts on them. Epic, meanwhile, says it is working to meet Apple’s reporting requirements so it can open the Brazilian store to third-party developers — the step that would turn a two-game Epic storefront into an actual competing marketplace.