News Epic Games Store

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
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This Adam Boyes tweet is a little off-topic but I thought it was interesting:


It's 100% true. So many conventions you go to, you'll see booths with people just statically sitting there (not just in games, other industries too). And then sometimes the same people who had shit signage are the ones at the hotel bars later complaining about "low interest" and "bad foot-traffic" (or in the case of games, probably complaining about Valve "shitting on them with their discovery algorithm").
But that would require indie devs either a) play their games or b) pay someone to play their games.
I mean, what do you expect them to do, they are indie devs, not indie gamers or indie project managers.
\s but kind of not
 

Ge0force

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But talking to people who are more...casual...they love that EGS is buying their loyalty with all these freebies.
I'm pretty sure Epic will keep giving free games next year. It seems to be working out pretty well for them, and by doing so they are taking lots of revenue away from Steam.
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
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I'm pretty sure Epic will keep giving free games next year. It seems to be working out pretty well for them, and by doing so they are taking lots of revenue away from Steam.
They're also devaluing their store. We've seen it on various app stores: give everything away for free and the psychological barrier to even paying a tiny amount exponentially increases.

Freebies on this scale is just making a rod for their own back while hurting indies when people think, "I'll wait until it's free on EGS."
 

Ruvon

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About Free Games on EGS : most of them were already given free elsewhere or featured in various bundles. Some were not, like Subnautica or Celeste, but even Surviving Mars, current free game, was in a Humble Monthly this year.

So I'm not so sure it's taking a lot of revenue away from Steam, because when it's in a bundle, you know how much it devaluates a game and not a cent goes to Steam, but I might be wrong here.
 
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C-Dub

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I think people claiming free EGS games and people who were actually willing to pay money for those games are two different groups. I doubt there's much crossover.

It's why I will happily claim them guilt free. Epic's blowing it's money on them, developers are getting a pay day, and I'm getting a free game. And to Epic's credit, a lot of the games don't actually need EGS running to play, so I can just add them as a non-Steam game and not have a resource hog running in the background.

Plus one of these days I may discover a game that I like and buy that developer's next game on a platform I'm willing to spend money on, like Steam, GOG, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and so on.

I am still dead set on not giving Epic any of my money so long as they are aggressively pursuing this exclusivity bullshit rather than spending money on making their store more resilient (to help against things like last night's Fortnite debacle), or spending money on adding features to the store, or developing their own first party games (even if they have to pay a third party developer to make them).

I think people would be more happy if a talented and trusted studio were paid to continue development on Unreal Tournament or make a high quality flagship single player game using UE4 rather than Epic just keeping games off other platforms for a year. I know Epic would probably have some money from me if they invested in their first party offerings.
 

Wok

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Freebies on this scale is just making a rod for their own back while hurting indies when people think, "I'll wait until it's free on EGS."
I have yet to see someone with this line of thought. It is a lot easier to say "I'll wait until it's in a Humble Monthly bundle", especially after that Spyro scandal.

About Free Games on EGS : most of them were already given free elsewhere or featured in various bundles
Exactly. There is a large overlap between EGS free games, Humble Monthly, and PC Game Pass.
 

Phoenix RISING

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I'm pretty sure Epic will keep giving free games next year. It seems to be working out pretty well for them, and by doing so they are taking lots of revenue away from Steam.
I mean, if that's the goal, job well done.

But
They're also devaluing their store. We've seen it on various app stores: give everything away for free and the psychological barrier to even paying a tiny amount exponentially increases.

Freebies on this scale is just making a rod for their own back while hurting indies when people think, "I'll wait until it's free on EGS."
This.

EGS disincentivize ppl from actually spending money there.

Does this also disincentivize ppl from spending money on Steam? IDK...depends on the "race to the bottom" when the autumn sale kicks off.
I have yet to see someone with this line of thought. It is a lot easier to say "I'll wait until it's in a Humble Monthly bundle", especially after that Spyro scandal.



Exactly. There is a large overlap between EGS free games, Humble Monthly, and PC Game Pass.

If you subscribe to those services.

Again, casual user who just built a gaming rig and EGS is giving them free games (that aren't F2P).
I think people claiming free EGS games and people who were actually willing to pay money for those games are two different groups. I doubt there's much crossover.

It's why I will happily claim them guilt free. Epic's blowing it's money on them, developers are getting a pay day, and I'm getting a free game. And to Epic's credit, a lot of the games don't actually need EGS running to play, so I can just add them as a non-Steam game and not have a resource hog running in the background.

Plus one of these days I may discover a game that I like and buy that developer's next game on a platform I'm willing to spend money on, like Steam, GOG, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and so on.

I am still dead set on not giving Epic any of my money so long as they are aggressively pursuing this exclusivity bullshit rather than spending money on making their store more resilient (to help against things like last night's Fortnite debacle), or spending money on adding features to the store, or developing their own first party games (even if they have to pay a third party developer to make them).

I think people would be more happy if a talented and trusted studio were paid to continue development on Unreal Tournament or make a high quality flagship single player game using UE4 rather than Epic just keeping games off other platforms for a year. I know Epic would probably have some money from me if they invested in their first party offerings.
I'm going to just have to ask yalls forgiveness in advance when Gearbox announces Homeworld 3 as EGS exclusive.
 
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FunnyJay

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Has there been anymore word on the fact that some people claimed they lost access to their free games on EGS when trying to reinstall them at a later date?

Like the free access model was half-assed and they weren't tied correctly to their account?
 

Wok

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Has there been anymore word on the fact that some people claimed they lost access to their free games on EGS when trying to reinstall them at a later date?

Like the free access model was half-assed and they weren't tied correctly to their account?
Apparently, the reason was that people added the games to other accounts of theirs, e.g. Fortnite accounts, or Unreal accounts, etc.

If you add games through the EGS client, then everything is fine, because that is the account used for EGS by definition: you cannot make any mistake.

If you add games through the web interface, it is possible that you log in to one of your other Epic accounts, which differ from the account used for the EGS launcher.
 
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Joe Spangle

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Apparently, the reason was that people added the games to other accounts of theirs, e.g. Fortnite accounts, or Unreal accounts, etc.

If you add games through the EGS client, then everything is fine, because that is the account used for EGS by definition: you cannot make any mistake.

If you add games through the web interface, it is possible that you log in to one of your other Epic accounts, which differ from the account used for the EGS launcher.
Launchers within Launchers.
 

Jav

Question everything, learn nothing
Sep 17, 2019
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Epic already has enough money to keep doing what they are doing (exclusivity + free games) for years. Their goal is to keep an entire generation of gamers away from Steam.
Yeah that's pretty clear but there's not much we can do except not buying the games and such.

But what can Valve do to prevent that?
 
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lashman

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worth pointing out that they now have 3 egsclusives ...

they might count Good Shepherd as a separate thing, but i don't ...

also, that's 2 for 2 for GS now, by the way ... both of their newest projects are egsclusive ... so i can only assume that Transport Fever 2 and Black Future '88 will also be
 
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lashman

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They sold an early access Steam key through their website, promising it would also activate the full game on steam when it launches.

So I really hope they don’t do that.
i wouldn't hold my breath if i were you ...

i mean - they were never selling it on steam, so ...

and there have been PLENTY of alphas and betas on steam that then suddenly became egsclusives ... just ask FunktionJCB
 
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Well, I have been playing Black Future '88 on Steam since March (and I believe my version is content complete, it's just missing some polish and stuff).
They already sent everyone who pre-ordered the game a Steam key.

I can't imagine how much of an asshole you would have to be to revoke keys one already has, and paid for, to take it to another store, but it's a possibility.

But, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if another game, Once Upon a Coma, ends up showing on the EGS.
I backed that game on Kickstarter, me and other backers were playing an early version of the game, and the developer recently revoked everyone's keys, and announced a strange delay, saying the game is finished, but because of certain "good news" he will announce soon, the game was being delayed.
And, he hasn't been answering people asking why the available keys were revoked, or if that means a change in platforms (the game was promised as a Steam and GOG release).
 

lashman

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But, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if another game, Once Upon a Coma, ends up showing on the EGS.
I backed that game, me and other backers were playing an early version of the game, and the developer recently revoked everyone's keys, and announced a strange delay, saying the game is finished, but because of certain "good news" he will announce soon, the game was being delayed.
And, he hasn't been answering people asking why the available keys were revoked.
Human Head also had "good news" about Rune, so .... yeah ... it's absolutely going egsclusive
 

Deleted member 113

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Human Head also had "good news" about Rune, so .... yeah ... it's absolutely going egsclusive
Don't remind me. I had that game pre-ordered.
Phoenix Point and Shenmue 3 also had good news. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

But, fine by me. As long as they refund me quickly (unlike Ys Net on their Shenmue 3 campaign), I'll simply buy something else.
Their loss, not mine.

In case anyone is curious about the update I mentioned, where the delay was announced (and the comments by backers about it), do check:

It's update #53 (for some reason, the forums change my direct link to the update).
 
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Le Pertti

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About Once Upon A Come, wouldn't surprise me if it went EGS, I sometimes watch his youtube videos and I like them just fine, but he always came of as little "sales person:y" who would jump on EGS.
 
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MJunioR

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But, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if another game, Once Upon a Coma, ends up showing on the EGS.
I backed that game on Kickstarter, me and other backers were playing an early version of the game, and the developer recently revoked everyone's keys, and announced a strange delay, saying the game is finished, but because of certain "good news" he will announce soon, the game was being delayed.
And, he hasn't been answering people asking why the available keys were revoked, or if that means a change in platforms (the game was promised as a Steam and GOG release).
This sounds bad, yeah. To be honest, I can smell an 'we did the thing' KS update in the air from reading this post.
 
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lashman

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This sounds bad, yeah. To be honest, I can smell an 'we did the thing' KS update in the air from reading this post.
yup ... i mean - what other possible reason would he have to revoke the keys? i can't think of ANY other reason tbh
 
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Chudah

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i guess Observation didn't sell all that well ...
Kinda suspected this would happen. You have these devs getting a lump sum check before release, they blow through it all within a few months, and without the continued income of monthly Steam sales, they're basically starved as they wait out the exclusivity period. And I suspect most exclusives aren't selling enough to get through the guaranteed EGS units. So they're basically screwed until they can release elsewhere.

And this isn't like console exclusives where the devs/publishers get the upfront exclusive check AND sales on the system from day 1. Unless you're a household name or one of the few breakout successes, going Epic exclusive is likely a gamble, and we all know the house always wins.
 
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Ge0force

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i guess Observation didn't sell all that well ...
Still baffled how journalists consider 3rd party games locked to a single storefront "competition". What Epic does is completely different from console manufacturers funding high quality 1st party games.
But, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if another game, Once Upon a Coma, ends up showing on the EGS.
I backed that game on Kickstarter, me and other backers were playing an early version of the game, and the developer recently revoked everyone's keys, and announced a strange delay, saying the game is finished, but because of certain "good news" he will announce soon, the game was being delayed.
And, he hasn't been answering people asking why the available keys were revoked, or if that means a change in platforms (the game was promised as a Steam and GOG release).
I loved Pinstripe. But if the developer sold his backers to Epic, he will never see another cent from me anymore. What a disgusting anti-consumer practice this is.
 
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Alexandros

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Kinda suspected this would happen. You have these devs getting a lump sum check before release, they blow through it all within a few months, and without the continued income of monthly Steam sales, they're basically starved as they wait out the exclusivity period. And I suspect most exclusives aren't selling enough to get through the guaranteed EGS units. So they're basically screwed until they can release elsewhere.

And this isn't like console exclusives where the devs/publishers get the upfront exclusive check AND sales on the system from day 1. Unless you're a household name or one of the few breakout successes, going Epic exclusive is likely a gamble, and we all know the house always wins.
Yep, I think it is very likely that many developers are stuck receiving zero money for a whole year because their games can't sell enough to cover Epic's moneyhat. I would be a liar if I said that the thought doesn't make me crack a smile.
 

lashman

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They do still receive the moneyhat even if they sell zero games on egs right?
correct

and i imagine they'll start receiving money once the 12 months are up (they'd have to be completely INSANE to sign a contract that says "you won't get any money until the moneyhat is paid back ... regardless of how long it takes")
 
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Chudah

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They do still receive the moneyhat even if they sell zero games on egs right?
Of course, but how many of these studios do you think have budgeted out that big paycheck to last them the next 12 months? They probably went into it thinking they'd clear the sales goal eventually and begin getting paid for additional units sold after so many months, and that may not be happening. Seems getting an Epic moneyhat really is like winning the lotto. And like many a lotto winner, the winnings don't last all that long if you spend it foolishly.
 

Ascheroth

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They still get a continued revenue stream from consoles though, not sure how many Pc only egsclusives they have.
 

Joe Spangle

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So they get the cash up front and then have to wait for a certain sale threshold before they start getting the 88% from sales?

Epic basically pre-buy X amount of copies and then keep all the sale money until that X number is sold?
 
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Alexandros

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They do still receive the moneyhat even if they sell zero games on egs right?
Yes, that's the point of guaranteed sales. Epic essentially buys from them a set number of copies and pays for them immediately. However this means that developers won't get any more money until Epic has sold all of the pre-bought copies.