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Epic’s Telefónica Deal Brought Its Store to Selected Android Devices—What the 2024 Partnership Actually Changed

Epic’s Telefónica partnership targeted new compatible Android devices in selected markets, but did not replace Google Play or promise a discount. Here is what the 2024 deal did—and did not—cover.
Length8 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Epic Games and Telefónica announced a long-term partnership on December 12, 2024, to put the Epic Games Store in front of customers setting up new, compatible Android devices in selected Telefónica markets. It was a carrier-assisted way to make Epic’s games easier to find—not a replacement for Google Play, a guarantee that every Telefónica phone would include the store, or a published discount for customers.

What Epic and Telefónica announced

The agreement joined Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite and the Epic Games Store, with Telefónica, whose brands include O2 and Movistar. The companies said the store would be pre-installed on new compatible Android devices sold through Telefónica networks, with the aim of making Epic’s mobile games easier to access and adding another route for distributing games. They described the arrangement as a long-term partnership, but did not publish its contract terms. Epic’s announcement and Telefónica’s announcement date it to December 12, 2024.

The practical distinction is that a carrier can put a store in a device’s setup or sales journey, rather than relying only on customers to discover it and install it themselves. The public announcements do not establish that every eligible device received an automatic installation. In Germany, Epic later said O2 customers could choose to pre-install the store during smartphone setup. That is an optional setup route, not evidence that the app was mandatory or the default marketplace. Epic’s update on Germany describes that option.

Where the arrangement was announced

The stated initial scope was Telefónica’s network in the following markets. “Spanish-speaking Latin America” is not the same as all of Latin America, and the announcement does not mean every Android device sold in each country through any retailer was covered.

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Market What the announcement supports
Spain Included in the announced Telefónica-market scope; eligible new, compatible Android devices were the target.
United Kingdom Included in the announced scope; the announcement does not identify every eligible model or sales channel.
Germany Included; Epic specifically said O2 customers could choose to pre-install the store during setup.
Mexico Included in the announced scope; handset-level and channel details were not published.
Spanish-speaking Latin America Included as a regional category; the public announcement did not itemize every country covered.

The country scope appears in Telefónica’s press-release PDF. A later Telefónica document again describes the earlier rollout as covering Spain, the UK and Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, but does not provide a complete country-by-country deployment list. It also discusses a separate Brazil-related customer promotion, which should not be mistaken for proof that Brazil was part of the original store rollout. Telefónica’s 2025 document gives that later context.

Which games the store was meant to offer

The 2024 announcement named Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe. It also described third-party games as a future expansion, not as a confirmed broad catalog available on day one through Telefónica devices. Epic’s later Android storefront page describes a place to find, purchase, download and play games and apps, but that general storefront description does not specify what was available on a particular Telefónica handset or at a particular rollout date. Epic’s Android page is the current source for its mobile store information.

The partnership did not make Fortnite exclusive to the Epic Games Store on mobile. It offered another way for Android users to reach Epic’s games; the announcements do not say that other ways of obtaining games were removed.

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Why Epic wanted a carrier distribution route

Epic’s wider mobile strategy is to operate a store outside the conventional mobile marketplace model. When it launched its mobile store in August 2024, Epic said it was available on Android worldwide and on iPhone in the European Union, initially featuring Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe. Epic’s launch announcement provides that platform and launch context.

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In its July 2024 strategy announcement, Epic presented different developer economics as part of its effort to encourage alternative mobile distribution. It said the store would charge 12% for payments processed by Epic and 0% on third-party payments, subject to applicable program terms. Those are Epic’s announced store policies, not terms published for the Telefónica contract, and they do not establish a consumer discount on a Telefónica phone. Epic’s mobile-store strategy announcement explains the stated terms.

For Epic, carrier-assisted visibility can reduce the discovery barrier: a customer may encounter the store while buying or setting up a phone rather than having to seek it out. That is a plausible strategic benefit of the announced distribution method, not proof of how many people installed, kept or used the app. The 2024 release cited Telefónica’s 392 million customers, a corporate customer-base figure—not the count of eligible Android users or devices. It also cited more than 10.8 million players for an earlier Fortnite/O2 activation; that historical event metric is not a result of the store partnership.

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What Telefónica contributed—and what it did not promise

The announced contribution was distribution reach through Telefónica networks and a route to place Epic’s store on compatible Android devices. The companies also had an existing commercial relationship around Epic purchases. Telefónica said it had previously been the first mobile carrier to introduce direct carrier billing in the Epic Games Store. In a separate Spain-specific announcement, Movistar said customers could charge Epic digital purchases, including games, battle passes and Fortnite V-Bucks, to their mobile bills. That billing agreement is related background, not a feature the 2024 pre-installation announcement promised to every Telefónica customer. The Movistar billing announcement sets out its scope.

Neither company announced a special customer price, free-game entitlement, handset discount, or a public revenue-sharing arrangement for this deal. Nor did it say that Telefónica phones would ship without Google Play. The Epic Games Store was described as an additional marketplace and an alternative distribution option; pre-installation does not make it the default store, and availability during setup does not make it compulsory.

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What remains undisclosed

The companies’ announcements do not provide enough detail to determine how widely the store was actually deployed or how many users it brought to Epic. In particular, they do not specify:

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  • The handset models included, or whether rollout differed by manufacturer.
  • Whether coverage extended to online sales, physical retail, upgrades, or only selected channels.
  • Which markets used automatic installation versus an optional setup offer.
  • Market-by-market rollout dates, numbers of devices shipped with the store, or active-user results.
  • The commercial structure between Epic and Telefónica, including any fees or revenue share.
  • The third-party catalog available through the carrier distribution channel at launch.
  • Whether the original deployment expanded materially after the announcement.

As of August 18, 2026, Epic’s public Android documentation confirms that the store can also be installed independently on compatible Android phones worldwide, subject to legal restrictions. That general availability is distinct from a complete report on the status of each Telefónica market or device rollout. Epic’s current Android page is the appropriate place to check its live availability information.

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How to get Epic’s Android store if it is not on your phone

A Telefónica-branded SIM or phone is not required to install Epic’s store independently on a compatible Android device. Use Epic’s official page, since Android menus and permission labels differ by manufacturer and operating-system version:

  1. On the Android device, open Epic’s official Android download page.
  2. Download the Epic Games Store installer and follow the on-screen installation steps.
  3. If Android asks, allow installation from that source in the device’s security or app settings, then return to the installer to complete setup.
  4. Open the store and sign in to an existing Epic account or create one, then choose an available game.

Epic currently lists conflicting minimum-version guidance: its Android download page says Android 8 / SDK 26 or later, while its support page says SDK 24 or later. It recommends SDK 34 or newer for optimal performance and lists about 25 MB for the store app itself; individual games need additional storage and may require more capable hardware. Because the minimum differs between Epic’s pages, check the device and game requirements shown by Epic rather than treating one figure as definitive. Epic’s mobile requirements support page contains the SDK 24 guidance.

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Epic says Fortnite and Fall Guys support cross-platform account progression. Sign in with the Epic account that holds the existing progress; using a different account can make that progress appear missing. Epic also recommends enabling two-factor authentication. The store app itself is free to install, but that does not mean every game or in-app purchase is free. If automatic game updates fail, Epic says they can be started manually from the product page. Its Android page also notes that some mobile parental-control functions may not yet be accessible directly inside the store.

What the deal means for users and the mobile-store market

For a customer whose eligible phone received the store or offered it during setup, the benefit is convenience and visibility: fewer steps may stand between device setup and installing an Epic game. The trade-off is another marketplace, with its own app, account and update flow. A pre-installed store does not guarantee that every game works on that particular handset, and Android may show security prompts when an app is installed from outside Google Play.

For Epic, a carrier route can put its storefront before customers at a valuable moment, but presence on a phone does not demonstrate use or retention. A durable alternative to a single dominant marketplace also depends on users returning and developers supplying a compelling catalog. For Telefónica, the partnership could add a gaming proposition to device sales, but the public announcement does not document a financial return or customer price benefit.

For readers trying to establish whether their own phone was covered, the announcement is not a handset eligibility list. If the store is absent, the phone may not have been an included compatible model, may have been bought through a channel outside the rollout, or may not have received the setup offer. The official Epic download route is the practical alternative where the device meets Epic’s requirements.

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Bottom line

The December 2024 agreement mattered because it gave Epic a carrier-backed route to place its Android store before customers in selected Telefónica markets. The public record supports a targeted distribution partnership, not universal installation, replacement of Google Play, exclusive access to Fortnite, or a disclosed customer discount. Its actual reach and commercial impact remain unquantified in the companies’ public announcements.

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