Epic Games have announced their new Epic First Run program, to entice more developers to release on their store exclusively and give developers a boost. With this we can expect to see many more developers opt to go Epic exclusive.
The Epic First Run program will give developers 100% of the revenue, so Epic Games will not take a cut from sales on the Epic Games Store for the first 6 exclusive months. It's opt-in for developers and does not prevent them from selling it directly and selling it using keys via the likes of Green Man Gaming, Humble Store and other stores that sell keys. Naturally, this rules out Steam and GOG, which is largely the point of it to get more people to shop on the Epic Store and not Steam.
After the 6 month exclusive period is up, developers can then release elsewhere and the revenue split goes back to 88% for developers and 12% to Epic Games.
Epic also mention that they now have over 68 million monthly active users with over 230 million players. To help get word out, developers who opt into the Epic First Run program will get "new exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections" along with features in "elevant store campaigns including sales, events, and editorial as applicable".
See Epic's announcement here.
What do you think to this news?
On Linux and Steam Deck, you can use the likes of the Heroic Games Launcher to really simplify getting games from Epic since they still do not officially support either with the Epic Store.
In related news Denuvo are rolling out some special protection for Unreal Engine games.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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As much as I like Valve I think compitition is good.
On the other hand I hope that Epic is working on improvements on their systems. The level of comfort steam provides is hard to beat.
On the other hand I hope that Epic is working on improvements on their systems. The level of comfort steam provides is hard to beat.
6 Likes, Who?
I don't like Epic for how they view Linux and give no support (actually they do opposite). So I will not support them till they change this behavior (I already have plenty of games from GOG or Steam and not enough time to play them).
The exclusivity is also bad thing, but good move to give more to devs for some time. I wonder if the exclusivity is for 6 months or more.
The exclusivity is also bad thing, but good move to give more to devs for some time. I wonder if the exclusivity is for 6 months or more.
16 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir 23 Aug 2023
I smell desperation
Last edited by Mohandevir on 23 Aug 2023 at 3:14 pm UTC
Last edited by Mohandevir on 23 Aug 2023 at 3:14 pm UTC
24 Likes, Who?
Linux_Rocks 23 Aug 2023
I don't care for the Epic Games Store, and I've only bought some DLC for the free games that they've given out and like 2 or 3 games on sale. (Versus almost 2,000 games on sale in my Steam library.) But if this keeps Valve on their toes, then so be it.
There's plenty of criticism to be had at Epic Games, but (to be blunt) the stupid rednecks and their fake criticisms of them are worse.
Last edited by Linux_Rocks on 23 Aug 2023 at 3:26 pm UTC
There's plenty of criticism to be had at Epic Games, but (to be blunt) the stupid rednecks and their fake criticisms of them are worse.
Last edited by Linux_Rocks on 23 Aug 2023 at 3:26 pm UTC
0 Likes
Epic themselves hasn't improved the Linux user experience or ecosystem, so no tux no bux.
13 Likes, Who?
It seems largely a move to make accounting easier: before they had to offer a big bag of money for exclusivity, and they had to work out how big the bag had to be, and developers had to work out if the bag was big enough to offset the lost sales. They already established that that approach wasn't working. This is a much simpler first bite of the cherry to exclude Steam, GOG & Microsoft. Whatever sales a game can get in the first six months drive people to bother with the Epic Store, and publishers get a bigger share of the revenue.
4 Likes, Who?
Competition is very good, moneyhatting to achieve it not so much. I'd much rather see competition come from features and user-experience, rather than simply throwing money at keeping competitors out of the picture for a while.
20 Likes, Who?
I don't like Epic for how they view Linux and give no support (actually they do opposite). So I will not support them till they change this behavior (I already have plenty of games from GOG or Steam and not enough time to play them).
The exclusivity is also bad thing, but good move to give more to devs for some time. I wonder if the exclusivity is for 6 months or more.
Indeed, how can we put competition and exclusivity in the same sentence?
What are you competing with a monopoly even for a limited time?
Epic will never see a cent from me, what exactly are they bringing to the table except frustration and bad software?
8 Likes, Who?
Looks like a very good deal, but for who?
* For Epic? Sure they have run the numbers and they would not be doing it if it wasn't.
* For the users? I don't think so. Exclusivity is never good for users. In this case they might be forcing you to play in a platform you do not like.
* For the devs? Looks like it is. They get every buck of the game for the first 6 months, that for many many games is when most of the sales are, and then you can release the game on other platforms, so if anyone didn't buy it on Epic, they can buy it anywhere else. But will it work like this? In these 6 months you are restricting the reach to a much lower audience. And I don't know how many of them are, but some users will not get the game on the Epic store even if you give it for free (yes, I know because I am one of them). Will these people buy the game 6 months after release on other stores like Steam? Maybe, but maybe not: the exclusivity can cause rejection for the title on some users, or maybe 6 months after release, your game is not the next big thing anymore.
So, I'm not that sure anyone other than Epic will benefit that much from this. Consider that the usual way to get 6 month exclusives before was paying big bucks upfront... to me this does not look like a better deal for devs.
Last edited by doragasu on 23 Aug 2023 at 4:44 pm UTC
* For Epic? Sure they have run the numbers and they would not be doing it if it wasn't.
* For the users? I don't think so. Exclusivity is never good for users. In this case they might be forcing you to play in a platform you do not like.
* For the devs? Looks like it is. They get every buck of the game for the first 6 months, that for many many games is when most of the sales are, and then you can release the game on other platforms, so if anyone didn't buy it on Epic, they can buy it anywhere else. But will it work like this? In these 6 months you are restricting the reach to a much lower audience. And I don't know how many of them are, but some users will not get the game on the Epic store even if you give it for free (yes, I know because I am one of them). Will these people buy the game 6 months after release on other stores like Steam? Maybe, but maybe not: the exclusivity can cause rejection for the title on some users, or maybe 6 months after release, your game is not the next big thing anymore.
So, I'm not that sure anyone other than Epic will benefit that much from this. Consider that the usual way to get 6 month exclusives before was paying big bucks upfront... to me this does not look like a better deal for devs.
Last edited by doragasu on 23 Aug 2023 at 4:44 pm UTC
6 Likes, Who?
I seem to recall not too long ago we learned that EGS is bleeding money like nobodys business, only thing keeping them afloat is leeching funds from Fortnite profits and of course despicable moves like this. This kind of exclusivity nonsense is insupportable and directly harms the consumers... but what if you're a struggling game developer and this deal is the alternative to financial ruin and starvation? 
What a stupid time to be alive gamer.
What a stupid time to be a
4 Likes, Who?
I wonder what Epic Games expects from its aggressive strategy in a slowly but surely shrinking PC market. In 20 years there will be no more Windows PCs for gaming. All that will be left are the interfaces (DX), which Apple now also supports.
One may not take Valve seriously for the Steam Deck and SteamOS. But you can also see a strategy in this. I don't see anything at all with Epic. The best thing for them economically would be to withdraw completely from the PC and concentrate entirely on consoles and smartphones. That's where they earn their money.
One may not take Valve seriously for the Steam Deck and SteamOS. But you can also see a strategy in this. I don't see anything at all with Epic. The best thing for them economically would be to withdraw completely from the PC and concentrate entirely on consoles and smartphones. That's where they earn their money.
1 Likes, Who?
I 100% do NOT buy from Epic games, ever. I sometimes consider buying from GOG, but not often. The reason is simple, no Linux support. Epic, in my opinion, actually actively hurt Linux when it first launched because of it's exclusivity deals. Games that were going to release on Steam with Linux support, Afterparty as an example, ended up going to Epic as an exclusive for like a year instead with NO Linux support. GOG at least releases games with native Linux support, but they don't support Linux with their official GOG galaxy application, so again Linux users get half-hearted support and are left out in the cold with no feature parity. If you want to see Linux gaming to continue to excel, we need to support Steam. They are the only store that actually gives us real, whole-hearted support. I get so tired of these companies forcing the Linux community to take matters in to their own hands so we can use their stuff. If they want my money, they need to support my platform with feature parity. *Mic drop*
15 Likes, Who?
Epic, in my opinion, actually actively hurt Linux when it first launched because of it's exclusivity deals. Games that were going to release on Steam with Linux support, Afterparty as an example, ended up going to Epic as an exclusive for like a year instead with NO Linux support.They also don't offer the Linux versions for games that already have them! I submitted an article to GOL about a native Linux game a little while back, and when I was writing down which stores it was available from, I had to leave out Epic because they only sell the Windows version.
6 Likes, Who?
As much as I like Valve I think compitition is good.
How is it competition? Who benefits from it?
5 Likes, Who?
rustybroomhandle 23 Aug 2023
So devs get to keep 100% of nothing.
3 Likes, Who?
They also don't offer the Linux versions for games that already have them! I submitted an article to GOL about a native Linux game a little while back, and when I was writing down which stores it was available from, I had to leave out Epic because they only sell the Windows version.
I think I would be more tolerant of Epic if they built in a loop hole for platforms they don't support. Like the Windows version is exclusive, but you can still put Linux and Mac version on steam. If they did that, It would be a bit nicer as it would encourage native Linux support in games. I still wouldn't buy their stuff though, no Tux no bux, hard pass.
2 Likes, Who?
If they wanted to compete with first/second-party exclusives, adding good features to their platform, and overall being more consumer-friendly; I wouldn't mind Epic so much.
However, third-party exclusivity is just all-around anti-consumer if you ask me. I'll never support it, especially when done so aggressively like Epic has done. It's literally the only thing they do to compete on EGS, restricting the PC games market rather than adding to it, and I absolutely can not support them at all for that.
Last edited by Aimela on 23 Aug 2023 at 5:23 pm UTC
However, third-party exclusivity is just all-around anti-consumer if you ask me. I'll never support it, especially when done so aggressively like Epic has done. It's literally the only thing they do to compete on EGS, restricting the PC games market rather than adding to it, and I absolutely can not support them at all for that.
Last edited by Aimela on 23 Aug 2023 at 5:23 pm UTC
9 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir 23 Aug 2023
I'm not sure it's going to have that much of an impact, anyway. Steam has become unavoidable. Even more with the Steam Deck's success.
On the other hand, devs already got 88%... So 100% is just 12% more of what was before... And you must trade your freedom for that by limiting yourself to the Epic Game Store, which is totally dwarfed by Steam. I'm not sure it would mean more money, not to release on Steam, on day-1. Better to take the 88% and release on both platforms, imo.
Personally, I don't care much. Never used EGS and will never use it. I put my money where my mouth is and with all that EGS crap (exclusivity deals) and because of the character, I despise Tim Sweeney and Epic Games. Not going to get a penny from me.
Edit: Anyway, the experience as proven me, time and again, that waiting for the end of the deal, when it releases on Steam, is an excellent idea. When it happens, the game his patched and is in a much better state... Sometimes with a discount on top of that!
Last edited by Mohandevir on 23 Aug 2023 at 7:14 pm UTC
On the other hand, devs already got 88%... So 100% is just 12% more of what was before... And you must trade your freedom for that by limiting yourself to the Epic Game Store, which is totally dwarfed by Steam. I'm not sure it would mean more money, not to release on Steam, on day-1. Better to take the 88% and release on both platforms, imo.
Personally, I don't care much. Never used EGS and will never use it. I put my money where my mouth is and with all that EGS crap (exclusivity deals) and because of the character, I despise Tim Sweeney and Epic Games. Not going to get a penny from me.
Edit: Anyway, the experience as proven me, time and again, that waiting for the end of the deal, when it releases on Steam, is an excellent idea. When it happens, the game his patched and is in a much better state... Sometimes with a discount on top of that!
Last edited by Mohandevir on 23 Aug 2023 at 7:14 pm UTC
6 Likes, Who?
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