News Epic Games Store

[Mivey]

Alan Wake 2 really continues to be a hoot. Even the bits in this game I don't wholly like are still kinda great, as it's just so bold and fucking weird. It's sad to see this game trapped behind the EGS and really hope it does get a Steam release at some point down the road. Doesn't matter how late, I don't see this game ever not being amazing, really feels timeless. Remedy's mixing of various media, like music, live action and games is such a unique thing.

Screenshots from CHapters Return 3 and Initiation 4

(none of the shots are overly spoilery, but you know, open it up on your risk

 

[Arc]

You will love Fortnite.
You will play everything through Fortnite.
Fortnite will become your sole reason for existing.
All hail the metaverse.

 

[Arsene]

Fortnite OG is a rare W for Epic and hopefully they see those numbers and stop shifting their focus to Creative. Creative can exist, but it shouldn’t at the expense of the actual game.

 

[Arc]

44.7 million DAU is insane, especially as its a nonfactor on mobile. For comparison Roblox has 66 million DAU and Call of Duty has 70 million and that's including mobile. Epic should focus on the BR and trying to make new games instead of pushing the metaverse.

FWIW, I think the PC version is around 10-20% of that number so you're looking at ~5-9 million PC users on Saturday which is probably somewhat higher than CS2.

Also the Google trial starts today. The Verge has a decent writeup. A lot of the topics will be repeats from the Apple trial, but Epic may have a slightly stronger case as Google has done some skeevy stuff like destroying evidence.

 

[curi0usBystander]

Epic should focus on the BR and trying to make new games instead of pushing the metaverse.

But epic wants to make the "Ultimate Game" that you will never leave (Like that absurd idea of the Everything app).

 

[Nabs]

We all knew this, but it's always nice to hear it aloud.

Epic v. Google: everything we learned in Fortnite court

The jury and judge sided with Epic.

www.theverge.com

The Epic Games Store still isn’t profitable.

We knew the company was spending millions to give away free games every week, but we’d heard it was a bit of a money sink despite not actually paying for each and every copy given away.

In case you’re keeping track, Epic Games Store boss Steve Allison says on the witness stand his store isn’t profitable yet. The goal is still growth, he says. Emails revealed during the Epic v. Apple trial suggested the company was hoping to claim half of all PC gaming revenue.

 

[fantomena]

It's nice to want things.

 

[Arc]

They'll be profitable next year. #trusttheprocess

 

[Arsene]

They'll be profitable next year. #trusttheprocess

They were hoping to make a 18m profit by the end of this year going by the article.

So much for that I guess.

 

[ExistentialThought]

It is outrageous to want 50 percent of the PC revenue. I am not even sure Valve has 50 percent when you include all the popular games not on Steam like LoL. Add in the fact your boss thinks publishers and developers should be able to not pay the store they are hosted on.

Also, they have no more path to profitability in their current business plan. They are relying on Fortnite, the metaverse, and their publishing to become profitable. Even if they stop free games, coupons, and the like, they will still hurt from service and processing fees, Epic rewards, and any losses from other lines like their publishing arm.

 

[curi0usBystander]

The goal is still growth, he says. Emails revealed during the Epic v. Apple trial suggested the company was hoping to claim half of all PC gaming revenue.

I'm not an expert in these matters, but i thought that companies growth phases are over now that money's tighter.

 

[ExistentialThought]

I'm not an expert in these matters, but i thought that companies growth phases are over now that money's tighter.

And according to Epic they have 725 million Epic accounts. How many more 100s of millions do they actually need to start to work on profitability or are they simply kicking the can down the road because they have no idea how to make money?

 

[lashman]

I am not even sure Valve has 50 percent

i VERY MUCH doubt it

 

[Arc]

Programs like cash back and Epic First Run will ensure a quick path to profitability.

Also my guess is 50% refers to the B2P segment of the market, i.e. indie and full priced games. Of course that definition is extremely muddled when you include live service titles which are the top performers on both stores. Based on the crumbs of data we've got from various developers, Epic is probably in the 5-10% range for B2P.

Edit: I just realized where they're getting the 50% from: Multi-publisher PC game stores.

And according to Epic they have 725 million Epic accounts. How many more 100s of millions do they actually need to start to work on profitability or are they simply kicking the can down the road because they have no idea how to make money?

A lot of those accounts are probably shadow EOS accounts. I tried Gotham Knights on Xbox yesterday and it likely created a shadow Epic account as it uses EOS for crossplay so you can add +1 to the count.

 

[Dandy]

We all knew this, but it's always nice to hear it aloud.

Epic v. Google: everything we learned in Fortnite court

The jury and judge sided with Epic.

www.theverge.com

The Epic Games Store still isn’t profitable.

We knew the company was spending millions to give away free games every week, but we’d heard it was a bit of a money sink despite not actually paying for each and every copy given away.

In case you’re keeping track, Epic Games Store boss Steve Allison says on the witness stand his store isn’t profitable yet. The goal is still growth, he says. Emails revealed during the Epic v. Apple trial suggested the company was hoping to claim half of all PC gaming revenue.

 

[lashman]

 

[Arc]

I know people are dunking on EGS being unprofitable, but this is a more significant point and undermines Tim's notion that a store exists only to facilitate transactions.

 

[curi0usBystander]

You know that giant audience that played fornite and was an untapped market or something.

Sometimes I think that epic thought that when fornite was at it's peak (let's ignore the fact that the PC version was way below the console version in users) the others should flock to the store just because of that or something.

 

[Mivey]

That's why I use Heroic. Boots up instantly, no shitty ads for fortnite and doesn't get in the way. What I also just discovered: the tool "Legendary", which is used as the back-end in Heroic to install and start EGS games was co-developed by Wok

 

[lashman]

That's why I use Heroic. Boots up instantly, no shitty ads for fortnite and doesn't get in the way. What I also just discovered: the tool "Legendary", which is used as the back-end in Heroic to install and start EGS games was co-developed by Wok

whoa, no way! that's so cool!

i miss Wok

 

[Mivey]

whoa, no way! that's so cool!

i miss Wok

GIthub shows him as a co-contributor, so he did at least help with its development.

 

[lashman]

GIthub shows him as a co-contributor, so he did at least help with its development.

makes sense - he's Tim's biggest fan after all haha

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

They don't seem to be happy about this at /r/EpicGamesPC

 

[Arc]

 

[prudis]

EGS Analytics - Sales vs time played

 

[Arc]

EGS Analytics - Sales vs time played

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

EGS Analytics - Sales vs time played

I remember this developer advertising on /r/EpicGamesPC and several other subreddits about this game.


Over 200 upvotes and 40 comments. And it led to just 2 copies sold in 7 days (It was originally released on May 11th).

 

[lashman]

Over 200 upvotes and 40 comments. And it led to just 2 copies sold in 7 days (It was originally released on May 11th).

sounds about right considering most of those positive accounts are most likely astroturfers or just trolls

 

[Nabs]

They don't seem to be happy about this at /r/EpicGamesPC

I love reading this stuff.

 

[Spookyfriend]

EGS Analytics - Sales vs time played

Does Epic Even have game Sharing, like Steam Family Share because a quick online show me they do not have this feature, so how people share games on the store?

Checking the Steam Forum , the dev even did not have a exclusivity agreement


This is what he post below

Hello everyone! I understand that some Steam users were disappointed with my decision to release the game initially on Epic, but at that time, it felt like the right choice for me. I didn't have any exclusivity agreement, and I was genuinely excited to bring my game to a gaming platform. Achieving this was significant for me, especially considering that just four or maybe four and a half years ago, I had no knowledge about game development. I self-taught myself everything through research and created the entire game using my own funds as a hobby.

Admittedly, I might have been a bit out of touch because I didn't realize the potential issues with releasing solely on EGS for a while. Back then, it felt simpler to publish on EGS as I needed to focus on game updates, and I was hesitant about reaching a larger audience like the one on Steam (because of criticism). It might sound a bit naive, but that was my perspective at that time, which I didn't want to discuss further

Now, I'm facing criticism for initially choosing EGS. However, it's important to note that the creation of this game wasn't primarily driven by financial motives but rather by personal fulfillment. To me, its completion is a genuine accomplishment and a source of immense satisfaction.

Despite my initial decision, I still hope that you might enjoy my work

Thank you all for your attention & have a wonderful day !

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

They don't seem to be happy about this at /r/EpicGamesPC

So the person who posted this is asking users in /r/EpicGamesPC discord server to upvote his comment to my reply because his comment was downvoted. The thread was removed so there's really no point for him to do this and it could get him in trouble for brigading.

 

[Mor]

They don't seem to be happy about this at /r/EpicGamesPC

us, naive PC Gamers who want to destroy PC Gaming

 

[fantomena]

Dave Oshry has turned the recent new about EGS not being profitable yet into a wave of "let's shit on EGS" on Twitter.

 

[C-Dub]

Dave Oshry has turned the recent new about EGS not being profitable yet into a wave of "let's shit on EGS" on Twitter.

Not a snipe at Oshry here, as he’s been critical of Epic back when people were praising them and calling them the future (back when they were throwing cash around, of course), but the dev community shitting on Epic has become rather in-vogue among over the last 18 months.

I think indies have become sick of their gameplay ideas being ported to Fortnite just as they’re about to hit critical mass. Plus now there’s no chance for a pay day they don’t need to filter themselves.

 

[Arc]

Dave Oshry has turned the recent new about EGS not being profitable yet into a wave of "let's shit on EGS" on Twitter.

Dave chose war.

Not a snipe at Oshry here, as he’s been critical of Epic back when people were praising them and calling them the future (back when they were throwing cash around, of course), but the dev community shitting on Epic has become rather in-vogue among over the last 18 months.

I think indies have become sick of their gameplay ideas being ported to Fortnite just as they’re about to hit critical mass. Plus now there’s no chance for a pay day they don’t need to filter themselves.

Maybe they should have made their games in Fortnite to help further the metaverse.

 

[Arc]

PlayStation Store: October 2023’s top downloads

Super Heroes and antiheroes are both included in the month’s most-played games.

blog.playstation.com

Alan Wake 2 was 11th in the US and 5th in Europe for the best selling games last month on PSN. FWIW I saw it at 3rd place on the Xbox US paid charts a few days ago (now currently sitting in 6th) and it's been #1 on EGS nonstop since it's release, whatever that counts for.

I'd guess it's a modest success, but not a smash hit. Maybe several hundred thousand sold so far. It'll probably break even at some point like AW: Remastered.

 

[Mivey]

PlayStation Store: October 2023’s top downloads

Super Heroes and antiheroes are both included in the month’s most-played games.

blog.playstation.com

Alan Wake 2 was 11th in the US and 5th in Europe for the best selling games last month on PSN. FWIW I saw it at 3rd place on the Xbox US paid charts a few days ago (now currently sitting in 6th) and it's been #1 on EGS nonstop since it's release, whatever that counts for.

I'd guess it's a modest success, but not a smash hit. Maybe several hundred thousand sold so far. It'll probably break even at some point like AW: Remastered.

I would assume that Alan Wake 2 will have better "legs" than Remastered, so it might happen a lot sooner. Perhaps word-of-mouth could also help this along, and there will also be some DLC that might help the game stay in the limelight a bit longer.

But I would also be surprised if the game sells more than a couple million in its lifetime. It's a niche franchise, I think Control remains the most successful game of Remedy, since their Max Payne times.

 

[Arc]

I would assume that Alan Wake 2 will have better "legs" than Remastered, so it might happen a lot sooner. Perhaps word-of-mouth could also help this along, and there will also be some DLC that might help the game stay in the limelight a bit longer.

But I would also be surprised if the game sells more than a couple million in its lifetime. It's a niche franchise, I think Control remains the most successful game of Remedy, since their Max Payne times.

Google says Control was at 3 million sold as of November 2022, which was obviously buoyed by Steam. Alan Wake 2 could hit the 2-3 million range after several years even without a Steam release as it's a horror game which has a wider appeal. If the budget was only in the $40-50 million range, it needs 1.X million to break even (accounting for regional pricing and console cuts). It's doable.

 

[Mor]

PlayStation Store: October 2023’s top downloads

Super Heroes and antiheroes are both included in the month’s most-played games.

blog.playstation.com

Alan Wake 2 was 11th in the US and 5th in Europe for the best selling games last month on PSN. FWIW I saw it at 3rd place on the Xbox US paid charts a few days ago (now currently sitting in 6th) and it's been #1 on EGS nonstop since it's release, whatever that counts for.

I'd guess it's a modest success, but not a smash hit. Maybe several hundred thousand sold so far. It'll probably break even at some point like AW: Remastered.

So far less than 700k more than 200k
(estimations and won't share anything)

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

 

[Arsene]

Epic is apparently doing a 33% off coupon for Black Friday. They’re really desperate now.

 

[ExistentialThought]

Epic is apparently doing a 33% off coupon for Black Friday. They’re really desperate now.

With an additional 10% back compared to their 5% on Black Friday. Throw in processing fees and server costs and they are covering nearly 50% of what a customer spends. Just buy a full priced 60USD title and Epic loses nearly 30USD. Seems super sustainable and not at all an attempt to pump yearend numbers which I imagine are bad this year with no major exclusive.

 

[Arc]

There was an internal document floating around awhile back showing Epic would only run the coupon during the week of Black Friday this year and double rewards would be the Holiday Sale bonus. In the big picture they probably won't lose as much money, but admitting you have cash flow issues, firing hundreds of employees, saying your store isn't profitable then turning around and doing the exact same thing you've done for years sure is a move.

 

[Arc]

Oh it is the 33% coupon AND double cash back. They really are desperate.

 

[Ascheroth]

I don't understand how they intend to ever become profitable.

 

[TioChuck]

So with the coupon and cashback Epic will lose up to 40% in every game bought on EGS, JFC, Sweeney is to damn stupid.

 

[ZKenir]

I don't understand how they intend to ever become profitable.

they'll become profitable once they have half of the PC market ofc

 

[curi0usBystander]

I don't understand how they intend to ever become profitable.

They told you, by getting 50% of the PC market .
Then proceed to enshittification

 

[Mivey]

I don't understand how they intend to ever become profitable.

The same way Elon Musk intends Xitter to become profitable. With some companies, it's clear that their CEOs, whatever other talents they might have had in the past, have just lost the plot on some things and refuse to accept that they made a mistake, or indeed that they are capable to make mistakes. And since they are infallible beings, naturally things will at some point work out.

 

[Alexandros]

I see EGS has reached the Hail Mary point. Godspeed Tim, burn through that cash.