Epic Games removes Fortnite from Galaxy Store to protest Samsung's sideload blocking

Fortnite was removed from Galaxy Store to protest against Samsung's new security feature

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced that the company has removed Fortnite and its other games from Samsung's Galaxy Store. As a result, new users can't install Fortnite on their Galaxy smartphones and tablets through the Galaxy Store. However, Tim confirmed that Epic Games will “continue to support Samsung devices fully and wholeheartedly now and in the future.”

Samsung introduced a new security feature called Auto Blocker on Galaxy devices with One UI 6.0. When it is active, it stops apps from being sideloaded. Sideloading is a term used to indicate installing an app or game via APK files downloaded from unofficial sources (places other than Galaxy Store or Play Store). With One UI 6.1.1, Samsung turned it on by default. This feature protects less tech-savvy users who may be at risk of installing potentially harmful apps or from shady sources.

Galaxy phones and tablets with One UI 6.1.1 pre-installed cannot sideload apps without manually turning off Auto Blocker's sideloading protection. According to Tim Sweeney, it obstructs people “from installing competing stores…” Epic Games legally fought Apple and Google to force them to allow sideloading of apps and third-party app stores.

When Apple and Google blocked Fortnite from their app stores, the Galaxy Store was one of the few places you could install Fortnite on smartphones. Since then, Epic Games and Samsung have collaborated on various things related to Fortnite. Samsung hasn't responded to Epic Games' move yet.

Watch One UI 6.1.1 in our video below.

How to disable Auto Blocker on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets?

You can easily disable the Auto Blocker feature by navigating to Settings » Privacy and security » Auto Blocker and disabling the toggle on the top of the screen. You can then install Fortnite from Epic Game's official Fortnite website. However, it isn't clear if people need to keep updating the game manually or if it can auto-update itself to the newest version.