News Epic Games Store

[DKA]

BoltBreak will be leaving steam on friday may 5th
BoltBreak will be leaving steam and moving to epic games store on friday may 5th, if you have it in your library you should still be able to play it.

Steam :: BoltBreak :: Events

steamcommunity.com

This aged well:

Epic Games Store Won't Accept "Crappy" Games

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has some choice words for the industry with regards to the games allowed on the Epic Store.

www.gamespot.com

 

[Arc]

Getting into publishing right now when we are in a time of consolidation was an interesting choice. Not saying I want consolidation or that I do not want to see more publishers per se, but it is clear the bar between success and failure is high these days, and this is likely magnified the more money is thrown into the mix. Epic could take awhile to see any real return from their investment into publishing.

What is more, if the rumors about some devs grumbling by Epic's lack of support is true, and we see more scenarios like Rumbleverse, then they will be less competitive as a publisher than initially assumed.

Epic started their publishing arm in late 2019 when the first waves of exclusives were mostly going nowhere and money was cheap and plentiful. Dev cycles are simply so long nowadays that it takes ages to release a game. Publishing games isn't the worst idea since they can have console and mobile releases.

Alan Wake 2 could be modestly successful, especially if it's survival horror. Heck, I'll rent it if it's actually good. Ueda's game will probably flop, but kudos to Epic for funding it.

Epic Games Store Won't Accept "Crappy" Games

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has some choice words for the industry with regards to the games allowed on the Epic Store.

www.gamespot.com

Considering some of the games I've seen on EGS since they opened the floodgates, I'm going to say that was another one of Tim's exaggerations.

 

[fantomena]

Boltbreak dev. Looks like a meltdown.

 

[C-Dub]

Boltbreak dev. Looks like a meltdown.

Here's my guess at the timeline of events:

• Bought a Udemy game dev course.
• Got half-way through the course before going off on their own.
• Their ambition was bigger than their skills or patience.
• Why would Valve do this?

 

[FunnyJay]

Never heard about Boltbreak before. But it looks like crap.

 

[Arc]

Boltbreak dev. Looks like a meltdown.

Skotos - Steam News Hub

Updates, events, and news from the developers of Skotos.

store.steampowered.com

Look at the news posts for his other game. He has a chip on his shoulder. I was lurking his Discord and he said the EGS version Skotos got 1000 players and was making claims that Steam is filled with bots and Valve paid Microsoft for Starfield to be exclusive.

 

[STHX]

Boltbreak dev. Looks like a meltdown.

Literally who

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

That person thinks that Valve is sending bots to his game pages:

Will it stay on steam forever?:
As long as steam does not go back to sending bots to my store page and the game does not go back to 0 players for months on end then it will stay, if that does happen then being on steam will be pointless as they will provide no value to me or the players of my games on the platform.

Skotos - Steam News Hub

Updates, events, and news from the developers of Skotos.

store.steampowered.com

That's for his other game.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

Seeing this thread pleases me after so many years.

What an Epic fail!

 

[tetel]

Well, there it is:

Not sure what's with the embed though (but it's Railgrade).

 

[Arc]

RAILGRADE

Construct intricate railway networks and use the power of trains to connect vital

www.gog.com

GOG as well.

Edit: Pure speculation on my part, but I think this bodes well for Alan Wake 2 showing up on Steam eventually. Epic doesn't own Remedy like they do Mediatonic and The Irregular Corporation so publishing rights for the PC version of AW2 could hypothetically return to Remedy at some point to allow a Steam release. However it will still likely end up being a very long wait.

 

[Arc]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/chainmonsters-blockchain-nft-857392

Chainmonsters pauses development

With a heavy heart I need to tell you that we have to pause the development of Chainmonsters for the time being.

bsidegames.com

With a heavy heart I need to tell you that we have to pause the development of Chainmonsters for the time being.

As a fully independent game studio without outside investment and completely bootstrapped, we have always been striving to work closely with you, our beloved community and players, to deliver a groundbreaking game with highly experimental and exhilarating features together. Your support is the reason why we are here and were able to deliver Chainmonsters through many different, exciting phases over the years. We are incredible grateful for this opportunity and we hope that you had a great time as part of the process.

Over time, there were many challenges we had to face but ultimatively our Genesis NFT sale in 2021 was keeping us afloat and when both the blockchain market as well as the world economy started to struggle, we were unable to raise additional capital, neither through traditional VCs nor the Foundation Sale yet.
As a result, we had to downscale the company, had to let go of amazing colleagues that have been with us for many years, and are now required to shut down our game servers as we are unable to keep even server and infrastructure costs low enough.

From my personal POV, Chainmonsters has been my life ever since in 2017 I was working on a prototype on Ethereum in my dorm room at university that would become Chainmonsters as you know and love it today. The last few months were an extreme struggle both from a financial as well as a mental POV.

I do not take this decision and the now following steps lightly - but it's the only logical step we can take. Recovering and raising a major VC-backed funding round in the background is top priority.
The game's development is at a point where all major systems are implemented and all that we can focus on is content creation: new chainmons, islands, quests etc once funding is secured.

This is not the end but more so a temporary break.

I am not sure how long this process will take, especially in this economy right now, but I am commited to make this happen!
Once there is an update, I will make sure to post an announcement everywhere.
Until then I have to ask you to respect the privacy of team members and don't send DMs.

What that means for your game account:
Everything from game and account progress, caught Chainmons, achievements, etc is fully backed up and will wait for restoration once funding is secured.

Thanks for all your support,

Max

Chainonsters is the first NFT game on EGS that was (probably) rugged. I'm sure it'll never happen again.

 

[Stone Ocean]

What that means for your game account:
Everything from game and account progress, caught Chainmons, achievements, etc is fully backed up and will wait for restoration once funding is secured.

Don't worry bro, your now completely useless garbage is fully secure in the blockchain even though you can't do shit with it and we are never coming back.

 

[lashman]

 

[Arc]

The metaverse is such a vague concept that any online multiplayer game with shareable user generated content could qualify. However the Zuckerverse is absolutely dead and buried.

 

[lashman]

 

[Arc]

That Epic Games China Weibo account wasn't lying when they said to lower expectations.

 

[curi0usBystander]

Will they fuck up again ?

 

[C-Dub]

Will they fuck up again ?

It is written in stone.

I’m expecting some more coupon fuckery.

 

[Acidote]

Oh, I already claimed both the DC and the regular edition last time. Straight to the backlog it went.

 

[fantomena]

The one good thing about KH games on EGS is that the price is still too high for me, even with coupon and since I already own KH 1+2 HD on PS4, caving into buying the games on EGS has a very low chance of happening.

 

[Arc]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/the-epic-games-store-launches-epic-rewards

Epic is starting a 5% cash back rewards program. Basically the same thing as the Nintendo eshop. I've wanted Valve to do something similar with Steam points for awhile but they never did.

 

[fantomena]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/the-epic-games-store-launches-epic-rewards

Epic is starting a 5% cash back rewards program. Basically the same thing as the Nintendo eshop. I've wanted Valve to do something similar with Steam points for awhile but they never did.

That's because Valve doesn't have to pay people to use their store.

 

[curi0usBystander]

Doing cashback with a 12% commission is wild (I mean as long as fornite rakes in money it's fine I guess) considering every other cost they have (but then again they've been burning money with the coupons for years so ¯\(ツ)/¯)

 

[ExistentialThought]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/the-epic-games-store-launches-epic-rewards

Epic is starting a 5% cash back rewards program. Basically the same thing as the Nintendo eshop. I've wanted Valve to do something similar with Steam points for awhile but they never did.

Essentially means their store will never profit under its current operations.

Per Tim, after the costs of the running the platform and at scale, they probably see between 5 and 7 percent from their 12 percent. But then throw in free games, coupons, ad spend, cash back, and creator deals, there is no way that 5 to 7 percent does not go poof.

A user who consistently purchases during sales using your coupons and using their 5 percent back bucks is a net negative by up to 18 percent or more...

 

[Arc]

That's because Valve doesn't have to pay people to use their store.

Neither does Nintendo. It would still be nice to have.

Doing cashback with a 12% commission is wild (I mean as long as fornite rakes in money it's fine I guess) considering every other cost they have (but then again they've been burning money with the coupons for years so ¯\(ツ)/¯)

Tim Sweeney Says Stores Mark Up Costs by 300-400%; Epic Games Store Will Start Small and Expand in Mid-2019

Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney provided additional details on the Epic Games Store opening. He also said other stores mark up costs by 300-400%.

wccftech.com

While running Fortnite we learned a lot about the cost of running a digital store on PC. The math is quite simple: we pay around 2.5 to 3.5 percent for payment processing for major payment methods, less than 1.5 percent for CDN costs (assuming all games are updated as often as Fortnite), and between 1 and 2 percent for variable operating and customer support costs. Fixed costs of developing and supporting the platform become negligible at a large scale. In our analysis, stores charging 30 percent are marking up their costs by 300 to 400 percent. But with developers receiving 88 percent of revenue and Epic receiving 12 percent, this store will still be a profitable business for us.

If Epic earns 12% from a sale, pays out 5% to 7% for fixed costs and another 5% for the loyalty, their net margin is now between 0% to 2%. I know they have Fortnite money, but do they have that much Fortnite money?

Edit: Most of the EGS revenue comes from first party games which they can easily cover, but they effectively do not earn any money from third party sales any more.

 

[Alexandros]

Tim is getting desperate.

 

[thekeats1999]

So if I buy Kingdom Hearts at full price it will lose Epic money???

 

[Arc]

Going on a tangent, I found this site that shows the Fortnite concurrent player count across all modes combined. It usually peaks at about 1-1.2 million on weekdays and 1.5-1.6 million on weekends. It's important to remember that it only captures people actually in the game and not everyone that is logged in. If it's anything like Rocket League, about 30% of users are at the main menu but not currently in a game. So the Fortnite peak concurrent might be in the ~2-2.5 million range. I'm sure it spikes when a new season launches, but those numbers are not as impressive as I had imagined considering it accounts for 5 platforms.

Anyway that's my rambling for the day.

Tim is getting desperate.

I think they'll eventually phase out or nerf the coupons at some point and have the rewards program be the primary way to save money. Of course I've thought that for about two years so what do I know?

 

[DrShrapnel]

25% additional plus 5% back? Not bad, but still falls short of some sale prices you may find on third party keyselling sites.

Interesting that Epic exclusive Dead Island 2 isn’t part of the Mega sale.

 

[ExistentialThought]

So if I buy Kingdom Hearts at full price it will lose Epic money???

Right now if you bought a full priced 60USD game using a 25 percent off coupon, it could cost Epic upwards of 21USD.

15USD from the coupon
3USD from the cash back (technically these costs are not realised until you purchase something)
0.90USD from the CDN costs (socializing CDN costs evenly)
2.10USD from payment processing (assuming higher fee like some CCs)

This excludes the buried cost if you are a user who has redeemed free games. If you use a subsidized creator code. And any ad costs.

 

[Ge0force]

Damn, I love RPS

"I assume that you, like me, are the owner of an Epic Games Store account which you never use but which has a bunch of free games attached to it. Now is your chance to continue never using it but to attach some cheap, on-sale games to it as well - along with some rewards money you swear to yourself you'll use before it expires but will probably only remember about three weeks after it's gone. "

Epic Games Store's Mega Sale is live now, with new 5% Epic Rewards

Epic Games Store's Mega Sale is live now, with up to 75% off on games, a 25% Epic Coupon, and 5% Epic Rewards to be earned.

www.rockpapershotgun.com

 

[fantomena]

Damn, I love RPS

"I assume that you, like me, are the owner of an Epic Games Store account which you never use but which has a bunch of free games attached to it. Now is your chance to continue never using it but to attach some cheap, on-sale games to it as well - along with some rewards money you swear to yourself you'll use before it expires but will probably only remember about three weeks after it's gone. "

Epic Games Store's Mega Sale is live now, with new 5% Epic Rewards

Epic Games Store's Mega Sale is live now, with up to 75% off on games, a 25% Epic Coupon, and 5% Epic Rewards to be earned.

www.rockpapershotgun.com

How dare he call me out like that.

I feel offended.

 

[Arc]

 

[thekeats1999]

I remember when they promised that EGS wouldn’t be deep discounts and ridiculous price cuts because that devalues games.

yet here we are…

also, thinking about it, their bigger investors maybe wanting to see a decent return (hell maybe even a return) on that money. Instead of pissing it up the wall on the EGS. I know fortnight brings lots of money in but investors can’t be happy with this. I know, private company and whatnot, but investors have some say dont they?

 

[C-Dub]

I remember when they promised that EGS wouldn’t be deep discounts and ridiculous price cuts because that devalues games.

yet here we are…

also, thinking about it, their bigger investors maybe wanting to see a decent return (hell maybe even a return) on that money. Instead of pissing it up the wall on the EGS. I know fortnight brings lots of money in but investors can’t be happy with this. I know, private company and whatnot, but investors have some say dont they?

Yeah, investors get a say, but since Sweeney still owns a majority stake there’s not much they can do short of selling their stake.

 

[Paul]

Yeah, investors get a say, but since Sweeney still owns a majority stake there’s not much they can do short of selling their stake.

Which they won't, because Unreal Engine and Fortnite.

 

[Arc]

The wildest part is Occupy Mars is still in the top 100 with those pitiful numbers. It's currently in 93rd place, but I've seen it in the top 20ish before the Mega Sale started.

From my understanding, the biggest AAA games, major live service titles and some high profile exclusives do well enough, but after you leave that realm you enter the marketing black hole.

Which they won't, because Unreal Engine and Fortnite.

But mostly Fortnite. While important to Epic, Unreal Engine hardly makes any money. A few years ago it was only clearing ~$100 million a year while Fortnite was grossing billions.

 

[Mor]

The wildest part is Occupy Mars is still in the top 100 with those pitiful numbers. It's currently in 93rd place, but I've seen it in the top 20ish before the Mega Sale started.

From my understanding, the biggest AAA games, major live service titles and some high profile exclusives do well enough, but after you leave that realm you enter the marketing black hole.

I would argue that AAA aren't doing that hot there either and it's mostly just a support place than anything else for the big picture. But it's not like I can show you any numbers even if I had them lol

 

[Ge0force]

I would argue that AAA aren't doing that hot there either and it's mostly just a support place than anything else for the big picture. But it's not like I can show you any numbers even if I had them lol

It seems devs and publishers aren't allowed to share EGS sales numbers. Several devs who released their game on EGS confirmed this on Reddit or Twitter.

 

[Alexandros]

If Tim Sweeney and the pubs/devs he moneyhats actually had any success stories on EGS they would be shouting it from the rooftops, like they do with the number of claims for the free games.

 

[fantomena]

All we know is that Satisfactory was a success for EGS, but once it was released on Steam, all the game's mindshare moved to Steam (unsuprisingly), War Z was a success and Snowrunner was hinted at selling decently on EGS.

However, all that info came from the devs themself, not Epic.

Blands 3 did really well on EGS (based on the court documents).

 

[Arsene]

All we know is that Satisfactory was a success for EGS, but once it was released on Steam, all the game's mindshare moved to Steam (unsuprisingly), War Z was a success and Snowrunner was hinted at selling decently on EGS.

However, all that info came from the devs themself, not Epic.

Blands 3 did really well on EGS (based on the court documents).

Darkest Dungeon 2 also sold 100k on launch day on EGS, But in true Epic fashion it fell off the grand canyon and only sold an additional 200k copies in the next 19 months. Then it sold around 230k copies on Steam in its launch week.

 

[Ge0force]

EGS got another exclusive gem:

"The PC version also has some technical issues. There are no graphics settings aside from resolution, and it runs locked at 30 frames per second (though it dipped significantly below that when a lot was happening on screen)"

https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-resurgence-review

No user reviews must be a blessing for these kinds of games

 

[Arc]

I can't wait to rent this bad boy.

EGS got another exclusive gem:

"The PC version also has some technical issues. There are no graphics settings aside from resolution, and it runs locked at 30 frames per second (though it dipped significantly below that when a lot was happening on screen)"

https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-resurgence-review

No user reviews must be a blessing for these kinds of games

Funny thing is one of the head honchos for EGS used dinging a game having 30 FPS as a reason not to have reviews.

 

[Acidote]

Darkest Dungeon 2 also sold 100k on launch day on EGS, But in true Epic fashion it fell off the grand canyon and only sold an additional 200k copies in the next 19 months. Then it sold around 230k copies on Steam in its launch week.

Somehow I completely missed the Darkest Dungeon 2 release on Steam. I guess it goes to the bargain bin purchases like many other former exclusives. If I can't be there on release I don't mind waiting three, four, five years until it's in a bundle or bargain bin price. There's way too many games to play for me anyway.

 

[Ge0force]

Funny thing is one of the head honchos for EGS used dinging a game having 30 FPS as a reason not to have reviews.

Incredible. This proves once more how lucky we are that Valve is owner of the most popular storefront on PC, and not companies like Epic or Microsoft who have no idea what PC gamers actually want and even try/tried to kill the open nature of PC gaming.

 

[Alexandros]

This proves once more how lucky we are that Valve is owner of the most popular storefront on PC

Indeed. Valve is the only company that is fully invested in PC gaming and is actively working to improve it. For everyone else, PC gaming is nothing more than a side hustle and it shows in their (complete lack of) effort.

 

[Arc]

For comparison, Dying Light 2 sold 5 million copies in its first month. I wonder why it was more popular.

 

[Paul]

I am glad Dead Island 2 is doing well, it is a good game and Dambusters really deserve a hit. Should have been on steam though, I bet it would be over 3 million. I only bought it on EGS because I was able to get cheap reddit key from GPU bundle.