Fortnite’s developer is entering the retail business

year and a half after its launch, “Fortnite Battle Royale” remains one of the world’s most popular games. Epic, the maker of the lighthearted online shooter, reported that 10.7m players watched an in-game concert on February 2nd by Marshmello, a dj. Concurrent player numbers regularly exceed 7m. Netflix says it views “Fortnite” as more of a competitor than video-streaming rivals like Hulu or hbo. Epic, meanwhile, has set its sights on a new set of rivals: digital shopkeepers.

These days video games are mostly sold not in boxes but as digital downloads. On the pc, the market is dominated by Steam, an online store run by Valve, a reclusive American games developer. On Android, Google’s Play Store rules. Epic wants in.