Fortnite today announced a new permanent V-Bucks deal, but players on Android and iOS will have to do something a little different to get it.
The Fortnite Mega Drop offers up to 20% savings on all V-Bucks and real-money offers inside Fortnite. This permanent discount will be automatically applied on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC.
Players on Android and iOS can get the discount, too, but they'll have to use the new "Epic direct payment" method.
When buying V-Bucks on an Android or iOS device, there will be two payment options: Apple App Store/Google Play Store and Epic direct payment. Choosing the latter option will get you a discount because you'll be paying Fortnite maker Epic Games directly, which means they won't have to pay Apple or Google the 30% cut that those companies normally get from in-app purchases.
For example, buying 1,000 V-Bucks will cost $9.99 when you buy through Apple or Google but it'll cost just $7.99 when you use the Epic direct payment.
Epic says that Fortnite players who recently purchased V-Bucks or real-money offers in the last 30 days (July 14-August 13) will get bonus V-Bucks by August 17. All players are also getting a new Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe for free.
This is just the latest in a long line of Epic's efforts to call out Google and Apple for their app store fees. When Fortnite first launched on Android, it wasn't available in the Play Store and could only be installed by sideloading so that Epic could get around Google's in-app purchase rules. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has called out Apple on Twitter about its App Store fees, too.
"Currently, there are no savings if players use Apple and Google payment options, where Apple and Google collect an exorbitant 30% fee on all payments," Epic explains in its FAQ about the Fortnite Mega Drop. "If Apple and Google lower their fees on payments, Epic will pass along the savings to players."
