We believe the ultimate vector for players to discover new games will not be our storefront but creators. Except for adult-only content, we don't plan to curate based on developers' creative or artistic expression.Įpic will manually curate the Epic Games storefront rather than relying on algorithms or paid ads.
It will mostly focus on the technical side of things and general quality. Tim Sweeney: We'll have an approval process for new developers to go through to release a title. What is your content curation policy (versus Steam) for when the store opens up more broadly? Tim Sweeney: We're focusing on downloadable games. Will you consider a streaming service as well? Creators will help developers reach gamers in a more entertaining and fun way, so games are not so limited by storefront screen space or top-charts space. Developers will be able to reach purchasers of their games through the newsfeed and, if the customer permits, by email.
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Developers will control their product pages, free of advertising for competing games. Tim Sweeney: Generally, we want to enable a more direct relationship between developers and gamers, and more efficient economics and discovery. What do you think Steam/other platforms are doing wrong that you can do right? Now that essential features are in place, we're ready to open it open it up to other developers. Tim Sweeney: We've been operating a storefront for Epic's own games for years. Why is now the right time to take on Steam? Tim Sweeney: We aren't announcing the games just yet. Here are his answers:Ĭan you say which publishers are signed up? Or which games it'll launch with?
The matter-of-fact Epic Games Store logo.Įurogamer had the opportunity to ask Tim Sweeney some questions about the Epic Games Store via email. Steam has over 100 million users, with around 10 million people online at any given moment - an enormous, established audience to sell to.
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While the Epic Games Store offers a great deal for developers, Epic faces an uphill challenge in taking on Steam, which currently enjoys an effective monopoly on the PC game sales market despite pressure from the likes of GOG, EA's Origin, Ubisoft's uPlay and Activision Blizzard's. This is designed to connect developers with over 10,000 creators, such as YouTubers and streamers on Twitch, and rewards creators for bringing exposure to developers (more on how this works below). The Epic Games Store also has what's called the Support-A-Creator program. are part-owned by enormous Chinese corporation Tencent. PUBG, by the way, is built using Epic's Unreal engine, and both Epic and PUBG Corp. dropped its copyright lawsuit against Epic that had accused the company of copyright infringement over battle royale phenomenon Fortnite. However, games made with Unreal will see Epic waive all engine royalties on revenue generated through the store.Įpic boss Tim Sweeney told Eurogamer over email he's open to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds launching on the Epic Games Store, despite the strained relationship between Epic and PUBG developer PUBG Corp.Įarlier this year, PUBG Corp. So, games made with Unity, for example, can make the cut. Epic said it's open to games developed with any game engine, not just its own Unreal. The Epic Games Store launches soon with a hand-curated set of games on PC and Mac, Epic said, and it'll open up more broadly to additional games and other open platforms throughout 2019. Epic's own chart compares the revenue split on its own store with that of Steam, although it's worth noting Valve takes a smaller cut for games that make $10m and over. That announcement, made just a few days ago, is interestingly-timed in the context of Epic's own announcement today. However, Valve recently announced plans to drop its cut to 25 per cent once revenue from a game hits $10m, and then another drop to 20 per cent for earnings over $50m.
Historically, Valve has taken around a 30 per cent cut of revenue made on Steam, a figure broadly in-line with Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft's cut from their own digital storefronts. This is a much better deal for developers than currently available from Steam. The Epic Games Store features an eye-opening 88/12 per cent revenue split in favour of developers. Epic has announced plans to take on Steam with a PC games store of its own.
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