In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Rockfish CEO Michael Schade confirmed that EVERSPACE 2 will not be going the Epic Store exclusive route.
As a reminder, Rockfish already confirmed Linux support to GamingOnLinux on Twitter. Naturally though, a worry amongst Linux gamers has been if they decided to go with Epic Games on their store which currently doesn't support Linux. Thankfully, that's not going to happen.
In the interview, they said they did have some conversations with Epic about EVERSPACE 2 but they "never seriously considered pursuing exclusivity". That's not all though, according to Schade, Steam is the best platform for an indie developer:
Without Epic, Rockfish and Everspace wouldn't exist, but it's the same with Steam. Without Steam, we wouldn't exist... In our case, it doesn't make sense. We need Early Access, the full feature set, the forums, the constant updating, the whole infrastructure. Valve has the best platform, by far, to roll out a game as an independent developer. It's by far the best tools and the best communities. This is exactly what we need.
That's interesting to read but they did also note that the exclusive deals can be "both valuable and vital" to smaller developers. An obvious point though, something I've said before. Faced with the thousands of games releasing per year on Steam and taking a deal as a small team that guarantees some income when you need it, you're likely going to take it. In this case, sticking to their plan has worked well for Rockfish since Valve promoted EVERSPACE 2 and some other titles on Steam, enabling them to pull in 20K wishlists.
EVERSPACE 2 is going to Kickstarter on October 2nd, with Early Access next year and a full release sometime in 2021. You can also wishlist and follow it on Steam.
Note: If you do wishlist games on Steam, to make them actually show up as a Linux wishlist you need to tick Linux as your sole platform in your Steam Preferences (at the bottom).
Hat tip win8linux.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: Liam DaweAs said by others, Valve don't pay developers for exclusive deals. In the case of the original EVERSPACE, it's available on many stores and I expect them to do the same here when it's released. In the case of Early Access, Steam's tools are just better than GOG's and it's easier for developers to manage while the game is in flux.I have never said Valve paid them to go exclusive. Pay attention, please. I just wondered (even if foolishly, as I now realize) about why one store's exclusive is immensely better than the the store's.
Granted, there is no word that "EVERSPACE 2" will be Valve's exclusive. But the wording was so full of "Steam Is Everything For Us" so my emotions got better of me and no I realize my comment was an unintentional trolling. That was not what I wanted to start. :'(
And as for availability on other stores… according to how this usually goes, I prefer to use the "I'll Believe If If I See It" approach.
in any case, from now I will cease to participate in further discussion about "Storefront Holy Wars".
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Quoting: RoosterBetter? Welll, Itch.io is clearly the simpler store to get things started on. Even aside from the network effects, I think you're kind of ignoring the original article here:Quoting: monnefQuoting: Liam DaweAlso severely more limited in terms of publishing (do they have even branches? regional pricing?).Quoting: TcheyI'm absolutely no expert, and with my non-expert view, i'd think itchio is better for indie to launch or prelaunch, because less cut. Then when you get some traction from the first players (free advertisment from youtube, forum, twitter etc), and you have fixed the first annoying bugs or balance etc, you can better second launch on Steam and avoid the "Negativers", or part of them.Less cut, but a massively reduced audience too.
Or not.
Quoting: Liam Dawebut a massively reduced audience too
To illustrate your point I'll add some numbers from our very small, free, average (maybe even bellow average) indie game without any marketing:
Steam: over 90 000 visits
itch.io: 52 views
Steam: ~270 unique downloads
itch.io: exactly 5 (yes, FIVE; not even sure if unique)
Don't get me wrong, I like itch.io - store front setup was quick, same goes with setting up the download, nor did they have any special requirements or additional costs. I think it is ideal for hobbyists and maybe starting studios, to share early projects, start building community.
Even though I suffered a lot with setting up stuff on Steam, waiting to reject build several times and fix "issues", waiting for store page to be approved and then waiting arbitrary time period even longer before it could be shown to users, in the end, I believe Steam is worth the money and the effort if you intend to make money with your game (we really didn't intend to, it was rather done to test the waters).
BTW share of Linux downloads on itch.io was 40% :D.
So basically.. Itch.io is the better store (from developer perspective) but it is essential to put your game on Steam, because more people are using it. Hmmm.. Where have I heard that before?
QuoteWe need Early Access, the full feature set, the forums, the constant updating, the whole infrastructure. Valve has the best platform, by far, to roll out a game as an independent developer. It's by far the best tools and the best communities. This is exactly what we need.There's also stuff people have mentioned like regional pricing. So itch is very user-friendly, but Steam is powerful and has many features. Define "better".
That said, network effects rule on this kind of thing. Perhaps sad, but generally true.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 10 September 2019 at 4:35 pm UTC
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Sadly, the Epic store feeds on controversy, so this kind of declaration is just another source of free advertisement for them.
Make people aware there is an Epic store, let them know it has so many exclusives that it is notable when a game doesn't take a deal, make people wait for the next announcement, highlight how much money they are giving developers, create the impression that this is the next big thing. Do something nice and partner with some genuinely cool indies, then do something outrageous to fuel the internet outrage and look like the victim (often at the expense of their partners, that don't have the same defences as they do).
I'd rather we not talk about Epic at all, good or bad.
Make people aware there is an Epic store, let them know it has so many exclusives that it is notable when a game doesn't take a deal, make people wait for the next announcement, highlight how much money they are giving developers, create the impression that this is the next big thing. Do something nice and partner with some genuinely cool indies, then do something outrageous to fuel the internet outrage and look like the victim (often at the expense of their partners, that don't have the same defences as they do).
I'd rather we not talk about Epic at all, good or bad.
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orochi_kyo Sep 10, 2019
Quoting: Alm888So… Steam-exclusive, then. Whew… That's a lot better.
Sometimes before writing it could be better if you use your brain. Do you know any third party developer that was forced by Valve to release their game on Steam exclusive?
No you dont, you come with your stupid hate towards DRM and just sit there thinking your hipster platform could actually call the attention of any cool developer, OMG The Witcher 3 is there, yeah a game that came like 4 years ago XD.
The fact is coming to Steam make the chance of Everspace 2 hitting GOG someday much bigger than going Epic exclusive but you get mad at it, use your brain for once.
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: RoosterBetter? Welll, Itch.io is clearly the simpler store to get things started on. Even aside from the network effects, I think you're kind of ignoring the original article here:Quoting: monnefQuoting: Liam DaweAlso severely more limited in terms of publishing (do they have even branches? regional pricing?).Quoting: TcheyI'm absolutely no expert, and with my non-expert view, i'd think itchio is better for indie to launch or prelaunch, because less cut. Then when you get some traction from the first players (free advertisment from youtube, forum, twitter etc), and you have fixed the first annoying bugs or balance etc, you can better second launch on Steam and avoid the "Negativers", or part of them.Less cut, but a massively reduced audience too.
Or not.
Quoting: Liam Dawebut a massively reduced audience too
To illustrate your point I'll add some numbers from our very small, free, average (maybe even bellow average) indie game without any marketing:
Steam: over 90 000 visits
itch.io: 52 views
Steam: ~270 unique downloads
itch.io: exactly 5 (yes, FIVE; not even sure if unique)
Don't get me wrong, I like itch.io - store front setup was quick, same goes with setting up the download, nor did they have any special requirements or additional costs. I think it is ideal for hobbyists and maybe starting studios, to share early projects, start building community.
Even though I suffered a lot with setting up stuff on Steam, waiting to reject build several times and fix "issues", waiting for store page to be approved and then waiting arbitrary time period even longer before it could be shown to users, in the end, I believe Steam is worth the money and the effort if you intend to make money with your game (we really didn't intend to, it was rather done to test the waters).
BTW share of Linux downloads on itch.io was 40% :D.
So basically.. Itch.io is the better store (from developer perspective) but it is essential to put your game on Steam, because more people are using it. Hmmm.. Where have I heard that before?
QuoteWe need Early Access, the full feature set, the forums, the constant updating, the whole infrastructure. Valve has the best platform, by far, to roll out a game as an independent developer. It's by far the best tools and the best communities. This is exactly what we need.There's also stuff people have mentioned like regional pricing. So itch is very user-friendly, but Steam is powerful and has many features. Define "better".
That said, network effects rule on this kind of thing. Perhaps sad, but generally true.
Better from developer point of view. I guess it might differ from dev to dev, but I'm pretty sure most of them will prioritize the 100/0 cut and ease of the setup to everything else.
Basically what I'm getting at (in a sort of roundabout way) is that if more customers used itch.io, Epic Game Store would lose its position as the developer friendly store. So in the end, you would have Steam as the most customer friendly store and itch as the more developer friendly store and Epic Store would be in the garbage, where it rightfully belongs.
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Quoting: RoosterBetter from developer point of view. I guess it might differ from dev to dev, but I'm pretty sure most of them will prioritize the 100/0 cut and ease of the setup to everything else.I wouldn't know. I have, in the article and thread, testimony from two devs; one seems to prioritize one, the other seems to prioritize the other. I hesitate to extrapolate to "most of them" from that sample, or to make claims which is better from the developer point of view. YMMV, I guess.
But the thing is, forums and such are a developer feature: They enable feedback and QA.
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyI wouldn't know. I have, in the article and thread, testimony from two devs; one seems to prioritize one, the other seems to prioritize the other. I hesitate to extrapolate to "most of them" from that sample, or to make claims which is better from the developer point of view. YMMV, I guess.
A sample size of two is enough for a doctoral thesis in medicine. ;-)
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