Samsung might have secret plan to differentiate itself from Chinese foldable phones

Samsung working with Epic, Krafton, and others to make exclusive and optimized games for Galaxy Z foldable phones

Samsung could be working with global gaming companies to bring exclusive and customized games to its Galaxy Z Fold lineup, according to a new report from Hankyung. The report “confirms” that the South Korean firm has partnered with Epic Games (of Fortnite) and Krafton (of PUBG) to bring exclusive games to Galaxy Z Fold phones. The company reportedly took this step to add more “foldable-specific content” and differentiate itself from the onslaught of foldable phones from Chinese brands like Honor, OnePlus, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

Apparently, Samsung Research has formed a Gaming Task Force team in China, South Korea, the UK, and Ukraine. This team is tasked with developing exclusive games for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in collaboration with gaming firms. It is reported that the team is working with Epic Games, Kakao Games, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, Pearl Abyss, and Smilegate for new games and optimizing existing games. Such games can have controls and the map on one half of the screen and the main gameplay on the other half of a folding phone, offering a more immersive experience and interesting gaming setups. Samsung even believes that customers can play console-quality games on Galaxy Z Fold series devices.

Exclusive games for the Galaxy Z Fold lineup could be launched early next year. In fact, some of those games will reportedly be available through Samsung Gaming Hub. It is reported that Samsung is developing special software (UI and UX) for its foldable phones, and for that, the company is in close collaboration with Google.

Samsung could be working on special version of software for Galaxy Z series phones in close collaboration with Google

Of all the smartphones sold this year, only 1.6% of phones were foldable devices. Samsung believes that more people will adopt folding phones only when there are more exclusive apps and games for such devices. The company believes that games can take advantage of bigger screens on foldable phones. Apparently, Samsung MX CEO TM Roh met with Google and other game developers during his trip to the US.

A Samsung official said, “Collaboration with content companies is as important as telecommunications companies such as AT&T and distributors such as Best Buy.” As sales of foldable phones are expected to increase by 37.7% to 25 million units this year, Samsung wants the biggest share of that pie through exclusive app and game collaborations.