News Epic Games Store

[curi0usBystander]

I assume is all part of an interview and they decided to split it in various.
But I'm not sure that last one is pro-EGS...
I was gonna make a joke about itch and the Apple trial, but it's kinda there:

“We make the distinction between apps we distribute,” Sweeney says, noting that even Apple distributes browsers that can be used to view adult content. “You really have to distinguish apps that are browsing open bases of content from games.”

So no porn games, but we distribute apps that can contain porn games

 

[thekeats1999]

So epic is happy to let the shills and scam artists run rampant through their stores with NFTs.

But they don't like having to deal with the legality of Porn games...

Pots and kettles spring to mind here

 

[Arc]

I rarely defend Epic, but I get their reasoning as payment companies like Visa and Mastercard have pulled from sites like Pornhub in the past and it is a minefield that might not be worth navigating. It's one reason Valve is so gun shy about adult games in general and they readily block games with characters that have the slightest chance of appearing underage. Porn games on Steam are mostly a byproduct of Gabe's libertarian streak. While NFTs games are hot garbage, I don't think Epic would be on the hook from a financial perspective as they aren't responsible for payment processing (I could be wrong about this though).

 

[Sadrac]

Epic explains its game store's ban on adult content

CEO says this is business, not "moral preaching"

www.axios.com

too bad, I was hoping to get some free hentai games.

 

[ExistentialThought]

I rarely defend Epic, but I get their reasoning as payment companies like Visa and Mastercard have pulled from sites like Pornhub in the past and it is a minefield that might not be worth navigating. It's one reason Valve is so gun shy about adult games in general and they readily block games with characters that have the slightest chance of appearing underage. Porn games on Steam are mostly a byproduct of Gabe's libertarian streak. While NFTs games are hot garbage, I don't think Epic would be on the hook from a financial perspective as they aren't responsible for payment processing (I could be wrong about this though).

I would be the first to agree adult content is minefield, especially due to payment processors and companies like Apple. Though I think the framing of it as anything more than, "we do not think it is financially viable to host explicit adult content" is being moral preachers despite saying otherwise. Saying adult content should be excluded from mainstream businesses is a statement that has moral or ethical implications, especially given the countries some of us are living in and the general views towards what is even considered pornographic.

It implies adult content is somehow in a class of its own which should be kept behind closed doors. And I mean, I get adult content, like nudity, sex, and whatnot are not for everyone, especially where it is not age appropriate and I 100% support folks who do not want to interact with it at all (side note: I think Valve can and should continue to make improvements on adult filtering). I think the attitude it is somehow content more offensive or objectionable than violent content. which is freely sold on store shelves, physically or digitally, continues to be a regressive idea that allows the exploiters and seedy businesses free reign in the adult industry that goes beyond games. I could keep ranting about how I think these attitudes may be bad at large, but I will stop for now haha.

Edit:
Also this statement rubs me the wrong way too:

• “Where there's lawful porn, if adults want to engage with it, that's their right,” he said. “But we're building an ecosystem that tries to convey a set of values about the content it hosts. It would be very hard to be a porn company as we're trying to be the things that are really hardcore to our business model.”

So if they host any adult content, they are suddenly a porn company? But if they host NFT/blockchain games, does that make them a NFT/blockchain company or do they somehow still magically retain their title as a game store company?

 

[sanhora]

What's with all these pro-EGS articles on Axios lately?

I think their audience is supposed to be industry/business type folks so their reporting is short/to the point and "neutral".
TBH I'm not sure they have much of an audience since I never see anyone talk about them or link their stuff.

 

[madjoki]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/itch-io

Yep but they allow itch where you can find tons of porn games, even many of them banned on Steam (like holodexxx or !Ω Factorial Omega My Dystopian Robot Girlfriend).

But Apple allows browsers in their IOS store!!!! You can even visit pornhub!!!

 

[curi0usBystander]

false equivalence

Tell that to Tim .

 

[Arc]

FTC Finalizes Order Requiring Fortnite maker Epic Games to Pay $245 Million for Tricking Users into Making Unwanted Charges

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order requiring Epic Games, the maker of the Fortnite video game, to pay $245 million to consumers to settle charges that the c

www.ftc.gov

Fortnite Refunds

Were you charged for unwanted purchases in Fortnite? Apply now for a refund.

www.ftc.gov

 

[curi0usBystander]

There goes all the third party revenue of the store.

 

[Arc]

Apple's store will likely remain locked down in the USA for now, barring a major legal victory. I've read they're going to open up in Europe next year to comply with the Digital Markets Act, but I would guess Apple adheres to the letter of the law moreso than the spirit and makes third party stores as inconvenient as possible.

There goes all the third party revenue of the store.

Third parties have earned a total of $1.171 billion on EGS since its launch. As Epic's cut is 12%, they have earned about $140 million LTD from third party EGS sales. That fine only puts them in the red a bit over $100 million.

 

[Ascheroth]

Third parties have earned a total of $1.171 billion on EGS since its launch. As Epic's cut is 12%, they have earned about $140 million LTD from third party EGS sales. That fine only puts them in the red a bit over $100 million.

They got an additional $275 million fine though.

Fortnite Video Game Maker Epic Games to Pay More Than Half a Billion Dollars over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges

The Federal Trade Commission has secured agreements requiring Epic Games, Inc., creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations the company vio

www.ftc.gov

That and these $245 million for refunds came up in December, this news is just that the $245 million part is now finalized (dunno if they already had to pay the other $275 millions or if that's still being finalized as well).
Half a billion is not an insignificant amount of money.

 

[Arc]

They got an additional $275 million fine though.

Fortnite Video Game Maker Epic Games to Pay More Than Half a Billion Dollars over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges

The Federal Trade Commission has secured agreements requiring Epic Games, Inc., creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations the company vio

www.ftc.gov

That and these $245 million for refunds came up in December, this news is just that the $245 million part is now finalized (dunno if they already had to pay the other $275 millions or if that's still being finalized as well).
Half a billion is not an insignificant amount of money.

True. Also thank you for saying >$500 million is not insignificant. If I have to read another Twitter or Reddit comment that says "but it's nothing they'll make it back in a few days haw haw" I will scream. Epic is rich, but not so rich they can shrug off half a billion dollars in fines. It won't put them out of business, but it will certainly sting.

 

[prudis]

There goes all the third party revenue of the store.

or 2 weeks of forntine revenue in 2021

 

[Ge0force]

True. Also thank you for saying >$500 million is not insignificant. If I have to read another Twitter or Reddit comment that says "but it's nothing they'll make it back in a few days haw haw" I will scream. Epic is rich, but not so rich they can shrug off half a billion dollars in fines. It won't put them out of business, but it will certainly sting.

It's half a billion that they can't spend on money hatting 3rd party games.

 

[Arc]

Bandcamp Workers Form Union: 'It's Not Enough to Get Small Wins Alone'

Employees at the popular distribution platform Bandcamp have voted to unionize. "It’s not enough to get small wins alone," says one organizer

www.rollingstone.com

Cherry picked quotes

When Epic Games acquired Bandcamp in March 2022, fans of the Oakland, CA music streaming and distribution platform reacted with alarm. Since its founding in 2007, Bandcamp has become an artist-friendly alternative to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music that caters to independent artists and labels by giving them control over the way their music and merchandise is consumed (and, compared to its competitors, sharing a heftier chunk of the profits). Epic Games, on the other hand, is one of the world’s largest video game and software development companies; Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent owns a 40% stake in their operation. A year in, Bandcamp is still Bandcamp, but its workers say that change is needed. That’s why they’re joining the ongoing wave of creative workers in tech, media, nonprofits, and other white collar industries, and in a first for a music streaming platform, have formed a union called Bandcamp United.

“Many of us work at Bandcamp because we agree with the values the company upholds for artists: fair pay, transparent policies, and using the company’s social power to uplift marginalized communities,” says Cami Ramirez-Arau, who has worked as a Support Specialist at Bandcamp for two years. “We have organized a union to ensure that Bandcamp treats their workers with these same values.”

In addition, workers hope to address what they view as an overall lack of transparency from management, especially in the wake of the Epic Games takeover. “When we were acquired by Epic, new employment contracts were given to us and we were given a limited amount of time to sign them with no room for negotiation,” adds Jared Andrews, a mobile app developer. “This was not fair and it was not transparent. Bandcamp as a marketplace is known for valuing fairness and transparency with regard to how the artists who use our website are compensated. These same values should be reflected in the workplace where Bandcamp is built.”

That seems like unbecoming behavior for the champions of a fair and open internet.

 

[lashman]

That seems like unbecoming behavior for the champions of a fair and open internet.

 

[Arc]

Tchia, the latest EGS exclusive, releases tomorrow.

This is what I get when I Google the game.

I'm actually interested in the game and will turn on my PS5 for the first time in months to play it since I'm a big enough idiot to have an active PS+ Premium subscription. I also plan to play Ridge Racer 4 more.

 

[prudis]

reading some of the changelogs of scloosies .. . therequite a bunch of devs that is totally is using their own egscusivity as unmarked early access

here Shoulders of Giants for example

 

[Arc]

Life by You is currently the top seller on EGS.

This is what I get when I Google the game. (The Steam version doesn't even show up on the first page of results).

Also I played Tchia for like an hour. I appreciate the unique setting and the fact the devs obviously put a lot of heart into the game, but it feels like a poor man's Breath of the Wild. With Tears of the Kingdom coming out in a few weeks, I'm not too interested in another open world game for now.

 

[prudis]

Life by You is currently the top seller on EGS.

This is what I get when I Google the game. (The Steam version doesn't even show up on the first page of results).

iirc its preorder exclusive for Tim

 

[Arc]

iirc its preorder exclusive for Tim

I posted in the Steam thread that Valve discouraged devs to do early preorders, but you might actually be right in this situation. The official website has an EGS link with the preorder button and Age of Wonders 4, another Paradox game, already has preorders open on Steam.

Edit: I found this Reddit comment saying Valve doesn't allow preorders for early access games. I can't find any evidence to corroborate this, but that might explain why there are no Steam preorders.

Going on a tangent, this might also explain why Disney Speedstorm doesn't have preorders. Preorders for that game are open on every platform except Steam. At this point I don't think it's a grand conspiracy, but instead Valve's policies.

 

[prudis]

At this point I don't think it's a grand conspiracy, but instead Valve's policies.

if its caused by "valve poilicies" .... why would day say it like this in trailer

grand cosnpiracy my ass ... its really clear and simple

 

[fantomena]

I mean, I like moneyhatted pr-order exclusives content far more than moneyhatted games.

 

[Morten88]

You cant do preorder for early access games on steam, its been like that for years now. If you check upcoming section on early access on steam, then no one have preorder.

 

[Arc]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/infinitesimals

New Epic Games Publishing title. Also Tim mentioned on stream Fortnite has 70 million MAU.

 

[Arc]

Epic is going to give 40 percent of Fortnite’s net revenues back to creators

Epic is revamping Fortnite monetization.

www.theverge.com

Looking over the new monetization system for Fortnite, it seems good on paper, but there is one major asterisk. Epic reserves 40% of Fortnite's monthly net revenue to distribute to creators based on engagement. The asterisk comes in the form of Epic also participates in the 40% pool with their game modes. Epic says more than 40% of playtime is built on creator content which means they will still get >50% of the 40% pool (confused yet? I am).

To illustrate a highly simplistic situation:

-Fortnite grosses $100 million revenue in a month.

-Epic gets $60 million off the top which leaves $40 million in the creator pool.
-Epic's own game modes make up 50% of the playtime which gets them another $20 million which means they have $20 million to distribute to every content creator.

It looks better than Roblox on paper, but will most likely wind up having around the same take rate as Roblox (~75%).

Also Geoforce, Fortnite's MAUs are basically flat from May 2022 when Tim Sweeney mentioned in the Financial Times that they had 70 million. I think I remember reading a document from the Apple trial showing Fortnite's peak MAU was about 80 million during the peak of the pandemic (and before they were kicked off mobile stores), but don't quote me on that since I'm not digging through dozens of documents again. Roblox has 55.1 million DAU which isn't too far from Epic's entire monthly userbase. Epic getting themselves banned from mobile was extremely short sighted and even though they will probably return next year due to the Digital Markets Act, it will be for only one region and they will have to convince an incredibly sticky Apple audience to download a whole new store for one game.

 

[fantomena]

Im gonna thank Epic Games. I care so little about Epic Store these days compared to 2018-2019 it is quite incredible. When they had games like Blands 3, Control, Satisfactory, Snowrunner etc. as exclusives, EGS basically lived rent-free in my head. Nowaways, I even forget to claim the free stuff, which is weird cause, like people in general, I like free stuff.

I went arrrr with Tchia yesterday though, but don't see myself playing it for some time due to other games, but I will try it for a few min this week, hopefully.

 

[madjoki]

Life by You is currently the top seller on EGS.

This is what I get when I Google the game. (The Steam version doesn't even show up on the first page of results).

I assume that's paid spot?

Neither EGS of Steam on first page for me.

(Netiher is in first 10 pages)

Guess it's kinda bad name?

You cant do preorder for early access games on steam, its been like that for years now. If you check upcoming section on early access on steam, then no one have preorder.

Steam doesn't do preorders generally. But Paradox is probably big enough to get special treatment if they want.

 

[ExistentialThought]

Epic is going to give 40 percent of Fortnite’s net revenues back to creators

Epic is revamping Fortnite monetization.

www.theverge.com

Looking over the new monetization system for Fortnite, it seems good on paper, but there is one major asterisk. Epic reserves 40% of Fortnite's monthly net revenue to distribute to creators based on engagement. The asterisk comes in the form of Epic also participates in the 40% pool with their game modes. Epic says more than 40% of playtime is built on creator content which means they will still get >50% of the 40% pool (confused yet? I am).

The fact Epic gets to partake from the creative fund pool alongside other creators should raise eyebrows. Epic has the ability to do things other creatives cannot do like curate created content and feature it to players. Epic now has a vested interest to put their own content in front of others since they can pay themselves back, this seems like a conflict of interest and any creators should demand transparency about how Epic is using engagement.

What are the terms for what folks create, if you create the next Auto-chess does Epic own it or reserve the right to make their own derivative version? I cannot find it any articles and I have not looked for the legal doc.

 

[lashman]

Epic Games CEO: Apple Is The Obstacle In The Way Of Our Metaverse Vision

Tim Sweeney says Apple "will either try to crush the metaverse, or extract all the profit from it."

www.gamespot.com

 

[TioChuck]

Epic Games CEO: Apple Is The Obstacle In The Way Of Our Metaverse Vision

Tim Sweeney says Apple "will either try to crush the metaverse, or extract all the profit from it."

www.gamespot.com

Was pretty clear from the Apple v Epic trial that Sweeney doesn't want to share profits from a "supposed" Metaverse.

The plan was aways for Sweeney to be some kind of Virtual Overload, and now with that 40% shared pool, the future of Sweeney's Metaverse is pretty dired for independent, small and medium creators, if this thing gets off the ground, the space will be dominated by big corps like Disney, WB, Universal, and advertising firms.

People who, right now, is buying into his idea will, for sure, get fucked in the future.

 

[thekeats1999]

Epic Games CEO: Apple Is The Obstacle In The Way Of Our Metaverse Vision

Tim Sweeney says Apple "will either try to crush the metaverse, or extract all the profit from it."

www.gamespot.com

If apple is truly stopping the Metaverse from happening then long may it continue.

Ah who am I kidding they are all probably trying to do something similar.

 

[Alexandros]

The asterisk comes in the form of Epic also participates in the 40% pool with their game modes.

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

Epic Games CEO: Apple Is The Obstacle In The Way Of Our Metaverse Vision

Tim Sweeney says Apple "will either try to crush the metaverse, or extract all the profit from it."

www.gamespot.com

"Apple shouldn't be extracting all the profit from the metaverse, I should."

 

[STHX]

"Apple shouldn't be extracting all the profit from the metaverse, I should."

 

[Arc]

Trying to recreate Mario Kart in the Fortnite editor could get you banned

Unreal Editor for Fortnite adds powerful new tools to make new games, but Epic doesn’t want you using them to recreate things owned by others.

www.theverge.com

Ah yes. The open metaverse.

 

[Deku]

Oh, sounds like Fortnite can become the next Roblox

 

[fantomena]

Whatever hype Tchia had seemed to have died quickly.

 

[Arsene]

Oh, sounds like Fortnite can become the next Roblox

I doubt it. Fortnite Creative 2.0 is missing a lot of stuff that made Roblox as popular as it is.

 

[Deku]

I doubt it. Fortnite Creative 2.0 is missing a lot of stuff that made Roblox as popular as it is.

Well, with time and resources that they have they can make something great...


oh, wait

 

[Arsene]

Crime Boss: Rockay City

Rockay City. A thriving metropolis with excitement buzzing from the sandy bay to the towering skyscrapers. But beyond the glamour, there is a fierce turf war raging on... After the demise of the previous crime boss, there's an open vacancy for a new King of Rockay City - but it isn't just you...

www.metacritic.com

Epic’s new exclusive is off to an amazing start it seems

 

[C-Dub]

Another banger for Epic!

 

[Arc]

I doubt it. Fortnite Creative 2.0 is missing a lot of stuff that made Roblox as popular as it is.

I know I'm days late with this post, but what does Roblox offer that UEFN doesn't? I think I read that you can make custom items in Roblox to sell while that isn't possible in Fortnite.

Crime Boss: Rockay City

Rockay City. A thriving metropolis with excitement buzzing from the sandy bay to the towering skyscrapers. But beyond the glamour, there is a fierce turf war raging on... After the demise of the previous crime boss, there's an open vacancy for a new King of Rockay City - but it isn't just you...

www.metacritic.com

Epic’s new exclusive is off to an amazing start it seems

My headcanon is some boomer executive at Epic saw 505 pitch a game with a bunch of washed up 80s stars and they were like "I want that".

 

[Arsene]

I know I'm days late with this post, but what does Roblox offer that UEFN doesn't? I think I read that you can make custom items in Roblox to sell while that isn't possible in Fortnite.

Its not just what the creative tools offer, but how both games are structured.

ROBLOX offers extensive character customization with hundreds of thousands of items to choose from, It has a GIGANTIC audience of young girls that love to dress up their characters and play roleplaying and fashion related games. The largest games on ROBLOX, with one hitting over 2M CCU, are roleplaying games.

Fortnite, at its core, is a third person shooter game appealing to teenage boys. Like 80% of the games skins are made to appeal to horny teenagers. There's not a lot of customization, and the game isn't really made for anything other than shooters. Epic released several showcase games for the new creative engine, and they're all just pretty games with the same core Fortnite movement and combat underneath. Its probably never going to have that widespread casual appeal that ROBLOX has. One of the games Creative 2.0 launched with was a janky off brand copy of a typical ROBLOX tycoon, which doesn't really bode well for non-shooter creative titles. Fortnite's discovery is also AWFUL. Its impossible to find games to play because the discovery hub is thrown together and confusing. Even Epic's own gamemodes get lost in it.

ROBLOX also allows users to monetize everything at their own price. Games can have micro transactions or cost a one time fee to play, people can straight up create avatar items now. Fortnite's plan is to dedicate 40% of their revenue to popular creative games, but their own battle royale modes are included in that 40% so its not exactly promising for creators looking to do this stuff full time or for people disillusion by how terrible ROBLOX is as a company looking for an alternative to swap to.

and then theres the whole copyright infringement worries.

 

[fantomena]

s.Like 80% of the games skins are made to appeal to horny teenagers

Huh, maybe now I understand why I keep hearing about Roblox from boys at my school, not girls.

 

[Arc]

Its not just what the creative tools offer, but how both games are structured.

ROBLOX offers extensive character customization with hundreds of thousands of items to choose from, It has a GIGANTIC audience of young girls that love to dress up their characters and play roleplaying and fashion related games. The largest games on ROBLOX, with one hitting over 2M CCU, are roleplaying games.

Fortnite, at its core, is a third person shooter game appealing to teenage boys. Like 80% of the games skins are made to appeal to horny teenagers. There's not a lot of customization, and the game isn't really made for anything other than shooters. Epic released several showcase games for the new creative engine, and they're all just pretty games with the same core Fortnite movement and combat underneath. Its probably never going to have that widespread casual appeal that ROBLOX has. One of the games Creative 2.0 launched with was a janky off brand copy of a typical ROBLOX tycoon, which doesn't really bode well for non-shooter creative titles. Fortnite's discovery is also AWFUL. Its impossible to find games to play because the discovery hub is thrown together and confusing. Even Epic's own gamemodes get lost in it.

ROBLOX also allows users to monetize everything at their own price. Games can have micro transactions or cost a one time fee to play, people can straight up create avatar items now. Fortnite's plan is to dedicate 40% of their revenue to popular creative games, but their own battle royale modes are included in that 40% so its not exactly promising for creators looking to do this stuff full time or for people disillusion by how terrible ROBLOX is as a company looking for an alternative to swap to.

and then theres the whole copyright infringement worries.

Thanks for the explanation. I know virtually nothing about Roblox other than it is massively popular and I would probably get on a watch list if I tried to play it.

 

[Ge0force]

ROBLOX offers extensive character customization with hundreds of thousands of items to choose from, It has a GIGANTIC audience of young girls that love to dress up their characters and play roleplaying and fashion related games.

Haha yeah that's Roblox in a nutshell. My 10yo daughter is spending all of her daily tablet time on this "game", by running around, saying "hi" to other people and changing clothes for her character.

Roblox has nothing to do with gaming as we know it, since there are no story, challenges, learning curves or puzzles to speak of. I bought Minecraft to motivate her to be creative, but she stopped playing after 30 minutes because the mining is too much of an effort. Oh well...

 

[Arsene]

Haha yeah that's Roblox in a nutshell. My 10yo daughter is spending all of her daily tablet time on this "game", by running around, saying "hi" to other people and changing clothes for her character.

Roblox has nothing to do with gaming as we know it, since there are no story, challenges, learning curves or puzzles to speak of. I bought Minecraft to motivate her to be creative, but she stopped playing after 30 minutes because the mining is too much of an effort. Oh well...

Roblox is an engine. The games are what people make with it. There are a lot of genuinely really good games on it. Most of them just dont get attention because anything that isnt roleplaying, horror or an anime fighter gets buried.

 

[lashman]

Roblox has nothing to do with gaming as we know it, since there are no story, challenges, learning curves or puzzles to speak of. I bought Minecraft to motivate her to be creative, but she stopped playing after 30 minutes because the mining is too much of an effort. Oh well...