News Epic Games Store

[STHX]

After seeing yesterday's news about Casey Hudson's new studio, I don't blame a completely new dev (formed by industry veterans) taking an Epic offer since they will at least give you money all the way to the end, no matter how many years it takes to release your game. If someone has to pay salaries for 5+ years then just let Epic do it, still better than burning them on completely pointless things
If the game ever releases, and if it ever makes its budget back, well, that's an Epic issue, not mine, and not the devs either

 

[Arc]

Remedy said they probably wouldn't have been able to fulfill their vision for Alan Wake 2 without Epic's backing so I'm happy they funded it.

 

[NarohDethan]

Alex Battaglia (@dachsjaeger.bsky.social)

Fortnite still sucks as a PC game. I wonder why Epic finds it acceptable that the first play experience on PC is an absolute disaster due to shader compilation. I bet first time players love seeing hundreds of hundred millisecond pauses throughout their first matches even on enthusiast level CPUs!

bsky.app

 

[Ge0force]

If the game ever releases, and if it ever makes its budget back, well, that's an Epic issue, not mine, and not the devs either

I'm not so sure about that. Signing with Epic means losing most of the sales on PC. If that game doesn't make it's budget back, the studio gets paid but doesn't have a single cent to develop their next game.

 

[Arc]

Highest number since Fortnite.gg started tracking, but the all time record is 15.3 million in 2020 with a Marvel event.

 

[Kyougar]

I'm not so sure about that. Signing with Epic means losing most of the sales on PC. If that game doesn't make it's budget back, the studio gets paid but doesn't have a single cent to develop their next game.

That only matters if you want to be passionate about game development.

But getting paid for 5 years without risks?
If it only matters that you and your buddies get money and possibly have a good time?
Probably squirreling away some funds?
It's an awesome deal.


All those AAA Studios that were created in the last decade by Industry veterans with tens of millions of investment money? With Headquarters in Tax havens? Did even 5% of those ever release a game or anything other than proof of concepts?
Most of these are scams.
No Industry Veteran in the gaming sphere of the last decade would look at AAA Gaming and say: "YUP! I will make a new AAA Studio with investment money and my game will make me rich!

 

[Arc]

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-why-your-fortnite-xp-gains-are-slower-in-chapter-6/1100-6528184/

Epic drastically nerfed EXP gains in the new Fortnite season. Gotta keep those engagement numbers up over the holidays.

 

[lashman]

Fortnite players could earn nearly $100 from a massive Epic Games settlement

The FTC is sending the first round of payments

www.polygon.com

 

[Arc]

https://www.epicgames.com/unrealtournament

Epic acknowledged Unreal Tournament. They also acknowledged that the series is dead so they can focus on more important things like ripping off Counter-Strike and Grand Theft Auto.

 

[lashman]

Epic Games announces deal with Telefónica

Epic Games has entered a deal with telecoms company Telefónica, which will see the Epic Games Store and Fortnite pre-in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Epic’s dream is starting to come true — its store will be preinstalled on ‘millions’ of Android phones

But not in the US — not yet.

www.theverge.com

 

[ExistentialThought]

Epic Games announces deal with Telefónica

Epic Games has entered a deal with telecoms company Telefónica, which will see the Epic Games Store and Fortnite pre-in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Epic’s dream is starting to come true — its store will be preinstalled on ‘millions’ of Android phones

But not in the US — not yet.

www.theverge.com

That is one way to hit your 10m+ download goals I suppose, is just force it onto people.

Will still be curious how much this moves the needle given that Samsung store, Amazon store, and such have been pre-installed on phones.

 

[Arc]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/epic-games-store-holiday-sale-2024-buyers-guide

No coupon (but a boosted 10% cash back). Yeah Epic threw in the towel on PC.

Epic Games announces deal with Telefónica

Epic Games has entered a deal with telecoms company Telefónica, which will see the Epic Games Store and Fortnite pre-in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Epic’s dream is starting to come true — its store will be preinstalled on ‘millions’ of Android phones

But not in the US — not yet.

www.theverge.com

Maybe I should invest in an iPhone...

 

[ExistentialThought]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/epic-games-store-holiday-sale-2024-buyers-guide

No coupon (but a boosted 10% cash back). Yeah Epic threw in the towel on PC.


Maybe I should invest in an iPhone...

Genuinely surprised at no coupon, they really are shelving that for now. I assume it could return on the mobile front once that is further along, but time will tell I guess.

I suppose that means this year's year end spend is going to be the most realistic showing of customer spend so far unless I am mistaken and they did some coupon earlier this year?

 

[Arc]

There has been no coupon this year that I can remember so the revenue numbers will basically be the real thing. I don't know what to expect as EGS has scored some big gacha games this year (ZZZ, Wuthering Waves and Infinity NIkki) as well as some big B2P games (Wukong). Maybe the number will be higher as the coupons might have dampened overall numbers as they lowered total player spend.

I'm also interested to see what their MAUs are like. Will they combine PC and mobile numbers? (almost certainly). At the same time, Fortnite numbers are currently down big time from 2023 as the 2024 metaverse modes didn't make nearly as big a splash as last year's.

 

[CommodoreKong]

I suppose that means this year's year end spend is going to be the most realistic showing of customer spend so far unless I am mistaken and they did some coupon earlier this year?

I’m guessing they’ll roll in their mobile revenue and not break down PC only revenue to look better.

 

[Ge0force]

Fortnite numbers are currently down big time from 2023 as the 2024 metaverse modes didn't make nearly as big a splash as last year's.

The new modes aren't successful, but doesn't Fortnite break concurrent user records all the time with their main events?

Their revenue from 3rd party games will probably increase thanks to a these gacha games. But revenue from paid games may be down since Ubisoft embraced Steam again.

 

[Arc]

The new modes aren't successful, but doesn't Fortnite break concurrent user records all the time with their main events?

Their revenue from 3rd party games will probably increase thanks to a these gacha games. But revenue from paid games may be down since Ubisoft embraced Steam again.

The events do big numbers, but you're talking about a massive spike that lasts 10-20 minutes a few times a year. The average concurrent shows about 1.9 million for December 2024 while it was 3.1 million for December 2023. I don't think the 2024 numbers will stay that low as the holidays are approaching, but you're still looking at a decent drop from last year.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Epic Games announces deal with Telefónica

Epic Games has entered a deal with telecoms company Telefónica, which will see the Epic Games Store and Fortnite pre-in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Epic’s dream is starting to come true — its store will be preinstalled on ‘millions’ of Android phones

But not in the US — not yet.

www.theverge.com

Because android phones didn't have enough bloatware already

 

[Parsnip]

Will still be curious how much this moves the needle given that Samsung store, Amazon store, and such have been pre-installed on phones.

Yeah, considering Samsung is by far the most popular Android manufacturer and obviously have their own store and haven't managed to make any kind of real dent in Google's app store, I don't think this deal is going to make much of a difference. Other than some fake "installs" number that they can boast about like you said.

Their revenue from 3rd party games will probably increase thanks to a these gacha games.

Isn't the only reason that the Genshin & all are on EGS that Epic doesn't take MTX cut?

 

[Arc]

Man, Epic really does want Fortnite to be the next Roblox.

Isn't the only reason that the Genshin & all are on EGS that Epic doesn't take MTX cut?

FWIW, Hoyo games on EGS have the option to use Epic's payment processor. I don't know how WuWa or Nikki do theirs though.

 

[Ge0force]

Isn't the only reason that the Genshin & all are on EGS that Epic doesn't take MTX cut?

Yes. But Epic will count it as revenue from 3rd party games anyway in their yearly numbers.

 

[Parsnip]

FWIW, Hoyo games on EGS have the option to use Epic's payment processor. I don't know how WuWa or Nikki do theirs though.

I would imagine they all do it more or less the same.

Yes. But Epic will count it as revenue from 3rd party games anyway in their yearly numbers.

If that is true then based on the third party spend from previous years I'd say people playing those games through egs are not using the epic payment processor, and as such I don't expect the gaas titles to move that needle much if at all.
Or rather, people just don't play those games through egs at all as there's no reason to.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Or rather, people just don't play those games through egs at all as there's no reason to.

The reason would be for stuff like playtime trackers and other community related stuff, which I doubt anyone actively using EGS cares much about.

 

[lashman]

Fortnite x Skibidi Toilet leaks proving that kids will actually buy anything

An actual Fortnite x Skibidi Toilet crossover is happening according to one of the game's most prominent leakers.

www.videogamer.com

 

[Arc]

Fortnite x Skibidi Toilet leaks proving that kids will actually buy anything

An actual Fortnite x Skibidi Toilet crossover is happening according to one of the game's most prominent leakers.

www.videogamer.com

When you really want to collab with Valve but your CEO has an eternal chip on his shoulder.

 

[STHX]

 

[CommodoreKong]

Tencent Removes Two Directors from Epic Games and Relinquishes Its Right to Unilaterally Appoint Directors or Observers in Response to Justice Department Scrutiny

The Justice Department announced today that two directors of Epic Games Inc. (Epic), who had been appointed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Tencent), resigned from the Epic board after the Antitrust Division expressed concerns that their positions on both the Epic and Tencent boards violated Section 8...

www.justice.gov

 

[STHX]

 

[fantomena]

House Flipper 2 has yet to release on EGS.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/house-flipper-2-f3bb66

Withering Rooms EGS release is cancelled.

https://x.com/MythicStream/status/1837646294837301606

This Epic employee seems to keep asking about EGS releases of games. Kinda sad.

https://x.com/MythicStream

 

[Arc]

Fortnite Player Count · Most Played Fortnite Maps

fortnite.gg

The average Fortnite concurrency in December 2023 was ~3.1 million
The average Fortnite concurrency in December 2024 was ~2.1 million

So a drop of 30%. While there is no tracker I know of that shows average Roblox concurrency, I know their peak concurrent went from about 9 million in December 2023 to 12.2 million in December 2024.

 

[CommodoreKong]

Fortnite Player Count · Most Played Fortnite Maps

fortnite.gg

The average Fortnite concurrency in December 2023 was ~3.1 million
The average Fortnite concurrency in December 2024 was ~2.1 million

So a drop of 30%. While there is no tracker I know of that shows average Roblox concurrency, I know their peak concurrent went from about 9 million in December 2023 to 12.2 million in December 2024.

Fortnite is back on Android now right? That's not great if they're back on one of the two major mobile platforms.

 

[Arc]

They technically never left Android as the Fortnite APK could always be downloaded from their site, but they aren't on Google Play so their reach is limited. The main reason for the decline this year is their new metaverse modes were duds. Permanent OG had a strong start but quickly tapered off while their Counter-Strike clone and LEGO social hub went completely nowhere.

Also they're back on iOS (in the EU) as of this past August.

 

[ExistentialThought]

I understand they want to create a lot of game modes, but unless you are steadily growing, you are just further and further segmenting your existing userbase and risking it all. And to be crystal clear, I am not saying the sky is falling, Fortnite is DOOMED, but I don't know where they go from here as they already had to walk back from some of the monetization of in-house made modes and tone down how generous they are with third-party made modes. They killed off rocket racing and I am unsure the longevity of some of these other modes to be officially supported rather than proofs of concepts

I guess there is technically some third parties who had announced they are making full games within Fortnite or UEFN, that is probably going to be the next big highlight if these start to hit this year as I cannot imagine Epic should continue to release their own in-house modes based on their current performance.

 

[Ge0force]

The moderator of r/fuckepic made a nice summary of EGS related news in 2024:


Especially the death of money hatting makes me really happy.

Also, Epic didn't deliver most of the promised features for EGS in 2024. They really don't care.

 

[Arc]

I understand they want to create a lot of game modes, but unless you are steadily growing, you are just further and further segmenting your existing userbase and risking it all. And to be crystal clear, I am not saying the sky is falling, Fortnite is DOOMED, but I don't know where they go from here as they already had to walk back from some of the monetization of in-house made modes and tone down how generous they are with third-party made modes. They killed off rocket racing and I am unsure the longevity of some of these other modes to be officially supported rather than proofs of concepts

I guess there is technically some third parties who had announced they are making full games within Fortnite or UEFN, that is probably going to be the next big highlight if these start to hit this year as I cannot imagine Epic should continue to release their own in-house modes based on their current performance.

Tim Sweeney said Fortnite had 110 million monthly users in holiday 2023. Even if the 30% drop is real, that's still >75 million MAU in holiday 2024 which is massive and still one of the biggest games in the world. At the same time they're spreading themselves thin by supporting extra modes and not expanding the audience.

I'm not doomsaying Fortnite, but as of right now it isn't the metaverse Epic wants it to be. If anything, Roblox is winning the metaverse race.

 

[fantomena]

Curious about Epics year in review, feels like they have lost a ton of mindshare the last year.

 

[Arc]

 

[jads653]

 

[STHX]

Are they pretending to be republicans now, or were they pretending to be democrats before?

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

I don't think they are pretending to be republicans, but I do agree mostly with what Tim says.

 

[Alexandros]

I think that billionaires don't have any specific ideology other than " we are the elite and we should be able to do whatever we want". They'll wear whatever skin suits their wealth-hoarding vice.

 

[madjoki]

Looks like Epic finally fixed player number (aka sales number) leaks. RIP.

 

[Ge0force]

[Hidden content]

Where can I find these leaked sales numbers?

 

[Arc]

[Hidden content]

Only took what, nearly 3 years?

 

[madjoki]

Where can I find these leaked sales numbers?

Epic Spy - Products - Players

silence is golden

epicspy.madjoki.com

 

[Ge0force]

[Hidden content]

Thanks m8. Some higher than expected numbers in there, but I don't know which games were given away for free on EGS.

 

[CommodoreKong]

[Hidden content]

So is this just based on the number of players who had at least one achievement?

 

[ExistentialThought]

Thanks m8. Some higher than expected numbers in there, but I don't know which games were given away for free on EGS.

Most of those are games at the top were given away for free. Actual sales on games are very, very low. Especially for simultaneous releases. Like gaining more than ~1k-1.5k players would place you in the top 100 games for the week. Free or paid.

Like for example, Rogue Trader just announced 1 million in sales, Epic has under <30k total sales or less than 3%, which tracks with a lot of other games being under 5% for notable, non-AAA titles, but still often higher than most simultaneously shipped indie games which can still be under <1-2% of total sales.

So is this just based on the number of players who had at least one achievement?

Yes, so games with harder to earn achievements, no achievements, or late added achievements can be incorrect. But extrapolating total sales is not too far out of the question for games we have better numbers for (e.g., total sales, platform splits, etc.)

 

[Arc]

[Hidden content]



[Hidden content]

Also the few B2P games that actually sold well were buoyed heavily by the coupon. Just look at how EA Sports FC 24 had 725k players and FC25 only has 172k.

Also TankHead, an exclusive game that was constantly in the top 5 during the holiday sale and is currently #3, hasn't even sold 30k.

 

[curi0usBystander]

Epic unveils bold plan to pay penalties levied by Apple to tempt developers onto its mobile store

Epic Games has announced a fresh push to convince app developers to launch their games on the company's fledgling mobil…

www.eurogamer.net

"It's uneconomical and will cause us to lose a lot of money, [but] we feel like we have to break the logjam."

Epic Games has clearly found it difficult to tempt mobile developers to its storefront, which was originally set to welcome third-party games last year and reach 100m installs by the end of 2024 - something it fell short of, only reaching around 30m instead.

Allison said Epic Games is not yet ready to share its new targets, but wanted to see the results of the free games program before discussing more.