News Epic Games Store

DrShrapnel

Shuwatch!
Oct 14, 2021
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Having used the EGS refund system before (bought an indie game with a coupon and the game was broken on 4K displays) I actually found Epic’s refund system better than Steam’s.

Valve can’t win ‘em all, ey?
I was shocked that they had a Live Chat option, which admittedly is awesome.
It didn’t work out well though.

The full Refund went surprisingly fast. I’ve refunded a game in the past, that took a few days. This time I received an email right away that I was refunded. I’m guessing because I never even installed it.

Sucks that I lost my coupon on a transaction that didn’t go through the first time. Oh well, I’m just going to grab a Steam game through a decent third party key seller. Epic’s only worth it for the coupons and free games.
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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Haven't all of Saber's games been EGS exclusive in the past 3 years? I wonder if they signed a long term deal with Epic after the success of WWZ and Snow runner...
 

Arc

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Sep 19, 2020
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Haven't all of Saber's games been EGS exclusive in the past 3 years? I wonder if they signed a long term deal with Epic after the success of WWZ and Snow runner...
Most of them, yes. The only one that wasn't was WWE 2K Battlegrounds. They're developing Space Marine 2 so I would sadly expect that one to be exclusive
 
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C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
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Any numbers on Sifu and any word on a Steam release?
If it’s like most other EGS exclusives, 12 months from now. Always best to assume that until we hear otherwise.

Developers and publishers are quick to talk about different deals, whether they be shorter or a forever exclusive.
 
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kio

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Apr 19, 2019
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Lifetime exclusive until you have no users and no money

I believe it won't be the first case it happens, they'll just append ": <random word>" to the name and release it as a brand new version that in no way breaks their previous deal. Look at "Word War Z: Aftermath" formaly known as simply "World War Z"....
So get ready for "Airborne Kingdom: Relifted" or something like that.
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
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I believe it won't be the first case it happens, they'll just append ": <random word>" to the name and release it as a brand new version that in no way breaks their previous deal. Look at "Word War Z: Aftermath" formaly known as simply "World War Z"....
So get ready for "Airborne Kingdom: Relifted" or something like that.
Either this or there was some sort of sales clause in their lifetime deal with Epic that allows them to release the game elsewhere if it sells bad on EGS over a period of time.

Or they asked nicely and Epic let them!

Time shall tell.

Also, so much for the developer “believing in” what Epic’s doing. Guess said beliefs don’t put food on the table.
 

tetel

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Jan 7, 2020
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I believe it won't be the first case it happens, they'll just append ": <random word>" to the name and release it as a brand new version that in no way breaks their previous deal. Look at "Word War Z: Aftermath" formaly known as simply "World War Z"....
So get ready for "Airborne Kingdom: Relifted" or something like that.
Straight Outta EGS Edition
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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I guess the whole "storefronts taking 30% is ridiculous" hits differently when you actually have to sell a product.
This. Epic paid for the development of Airborne Kingdom, no one bought it and now the devs don't have money for their next project.

I can't say I feel sorry for the devs. I mean, the PC gaming community couldn't have been more vocal against Epic's money hatting.
 

DrShrapnel

Shuwatch!
Oct 14, 2021
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This. Epic paid for the development of Airborne Kingdom, no one bought it and now the devs don't have money for their next project.

I can't say I feel sorry for the devs. I mean, the PC gaming community couldn't have been more vocal against Epic's money hatting.
I don't feel sorry for the developers. The choice is make your money selling to customers who want to play your creation, versus getting an easy exclusivity check - but selling to no one.

Personally I'd prefer to have people buying my game.
 

Arc

MetaMember
Sep 19, 2020
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For a limited time, when you download the Humble app from the Epic Games Store, you’ll be eligible to get 25% off your first month of Humble Choice—that’s only $9. (New members only). Offer must be redeemed in the Humble app.
You can download the Humble app on EGS to get a discount on Steam keys. :evilblob:
 

fantomena

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Dec 17, 2018
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Thinking about it, I dont't really understand EGS timed exclusive thinking. There are games releasing exclusively on Steam (by dev/pub chocie) every day. Like, I just came across this game:
Looks really good, most likely gonna sell a lot.

Like, Epic keeps paying (and funding with their publishing label) projects which costs them a lot, but still just received even more exclusives without Valve paying a dime. I get that Epic is trying to get more people to use EGS, but the exclusivity "battle" itself is long lost for Epic.

Like, for all I know, a smaller game like Vampire Survivors have made Valve more money than all 3rd party games that has released on EGS so far this year combined.
 

Mor

Me llamo Willy y no hice la mili, pero vendo Chili
Sep 7, 2018
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Arc

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Yeah, not the first time this happens.
What's weird is that EGS is obviously capable of pre-loads. I know Borderlands 3 had them and I think Assassin's Creed Valhalla did too. I just thought it was funny that even the Microsoft store can do preloads.
 
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Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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What's weird is that EGS is obviously capable of pre-loads. I know Borderlands 3 had them and I think Assassin's Creed Valhalla did too. I just thought it was funny that even the Microsoft store can do preloads.
Gearbox provided preloads for BL3 - probably using their own software, and AC is using Ubisoft Connect.
 

fantomena

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Dec 17, 2018
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What's weird is that EGS is obviously capable of pre-loads. I know Borderlands 3 had them and I think Assassin's Creed Valhalla did too. I just thought it was funny that even the Microsoft store can do preloads.
I think Gearbox developed their own pre-load thingy, read about it, but not sure. It wasn't ready, so Gearbox somehow did it themself.
 
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Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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My guess is that the deal with Epic wasn't actually permanent for contractual reasons, but it was communicated this way because the devs really liked Epic. They wrote a lengthy post about this on Steam:

"We believe in Epic. Epic is taking a step to fund indie games the same way that AAA is funded -- with deals worked out beforehand, but paying devs rather than suits. They've also publicly stated they're taking 12% of a game's revenue rather than the industry-standard store cut, which is almost triple that figure. Instead of flooding their store with anything, they're specifically curating good games, aiding to our visibility and to gamers' benefit (this also means we spend less time marketing, and more time just making the game). They've been clear with their roadmap, timely with their communication, and human about all our interactions. Overall, they're a company, and a group of people, that we want to work with -- for Airborne Kingdom, and hopefully in the longer term."

But now they probably realize that Epic won't be funding their next game, and the money they received for AK was spent on the development. I can't believe how short-sighted these guys were... 🙄
 

LEANIJA

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May 5, 2019
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hmmmm ... the steam user "Kid Danger" posted this:

Probably not, looks like their Console version publisher decided to put it up on Steam to get engagement and data tracking.

The PC version is self published by the developers, and they are still under life time exclusivity for the game. Freedom is their publisher for the console version

here is what the developer stated on their discord channel:

Heh, good eye, I think the page just went live the minute you posted lolol

FTR, we are still contractually obligated to be lifetime exclusive to the Epic Games Store -- that hasn't changed

Buuuut... our console publisher, Freedom Games, wants to list the game as broadly as possible to engage community and track data

Nothing to announce yet, but the fact that we can get the Steam page up is a positive sign

We'll let you know more as we do!
airborne kingdom
Community Created Artwork for Steam Artwork
By: Kid Danger




EDIT:

That developer deleted his comment on the discord channel and replaced it with this:

Heh, good eye, I think the page just went live the minute you posted lolol

Our publisher Freedom put the Steam page up -- they're just looking at numbers for now
airborne 2
Community Created Artwork for Steam Artwork
By: Kid Danger




One possible theory is perhaps their console version publisher is wanting to track engagement and data on the store to see if it would be worth it for them to approach Epic Games a negotiate to pay money to Epic Games to get the developers exclusive contract canceled.

edit:
Discord direct link for those who wanna check: Join the Airborne Kingdom Discord Server!

(it was our own prudis who interacted there with the dev, I just noticed.)
 
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thekeats1999

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Dec 10, 2018
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hmmmm ... the steam user "Kid Danger" posted this:




edit:
Discord direct link for those who wanna check: Join the Airborne Kingdom Discord Server!

(it was our own prudis who interacted there with the dev, I just noticed.)
Yeah, just read that on the steam forums. Seems really odd. So the game is still technically full exclusive on PC and this is all the doing of their console publisher.

It would make it all the more funny then as it could potentially make more money for their publisher than it will for them (I would guess they can't take any money for fear of breaching their contract with epic).
 
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LEANIJA

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Yeah, just read that on the steam forums. Seems really odd. So the game is still technically full exclusive on PC and this is all the doing of their console publisher.

It would make it all the more funny then as it could potentially make more money for their publisher than it will for them (I would guess they can't take any money for fear of breaching their contract with epic).
yeah although it states its published by Freedom Games on Steam.

....
maybe they think they can argue the Steam Deck is a console :p
 

fantomena

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Dec 17, 2018
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I have not heard of Airborne Kingdom before, haven't even seen it on EGS. How the heck did Epic help them with marketing? If they did help, then they did a poor job doing so...
EGS has poor marketing for anything they don't pay to get on the store. Discovery is really bad, so even exclusives get's quickly buried, it's really just bigger titles like Darkest Dungeon 2 and SIFU that get's a showoff on the store. Like, Solar Ash and JETT was a day or 2 on the front page, then got buried.