Q) So that means it’s not going to launch on Steam or GoG? What gives?
A) Yes, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is going to be exclusively on the Epic Store for a while. Eventually it’ll make its way elsewhere. (Console releases are not tied to this)
Q) You’re being a coy bastard. How long, and don’t be a weasel.
A) 12 months from launch.
Q) Exclusives are anti-consumer, why would you do this? (you monster)
A) OK, so that’s a little complicated. And our answer is long-winded. Bear with us.
So, before Valve and the 70/30 split it was pretty darn rough to be an indie (both in terms of royalty share and in terms of the ability to sell things without a publisher). We can all thank Valve for using their leverage to make that happen, and usher in the era we have now. We think it’s safe to say that a large percentage of the games made today wouldn’t exist without it.
Epic is using their leverage to push that even farther, to 88/12. That’s another whole strata of developers who can survive.
Would we like that to become the new standard?
Yes.
Can that be done without leverage?
No.
Is some form of exclusive content required to get the momentum to make that happen?
Yes.
And we’re willing to get on board to make that happen. The only way this gets any traction is with some exclusive content and we’re willing to be one of the canaries in the mineshaft.
Do we hope there is a big upside for us? Sure. That’d be amazing. But we also hope this is the start of establishing a new standard.