Epic Games Publishing Announced

Epic Games announces they are now a third-party publisher, announcing Epic Games Publishing is partnering on upcoming projects from gen DESIGN, Playdead, and Remedy Entertainment. Similar to the Epic Games Store, they plan an aggressive royalty structure, promising developers at least half the profits after expenses. "We’re building the publishing model we always wanted for ourselves when we worked with publishers," says Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. Here's an accompanying Announce Trailer and here is what they are revealing of their plans for now:
Today, Epic Games is announcing a new multiplatform publishing effort with a developer-first approach. gen DESIGN (The Last Guardian), Playdead (Inside, Limbo), and Remedy Entertainment (Control) are the first partners to announce relationships with Epic Games Publishing.

The Epic Games approach to publishing fundamentally changes the developer/publisher model, and aims to have the most developer-friendly terms in the industry, so that creators can focus on making great games.

  • Full creative freedom and ownership. Developers retain 100% of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work.
  • Fully-funded projects. Epic Games Publishing will cover up to 100% of development costs, from developer salaries to go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs.
  • 50/50 profit sharing. Developers earn a fair share for their work -- once costs are recouped, developers earn at least 50% of all profits.

“We’re building the publishing model we always wanted for ourselves when we worked with publishers,” said Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games.

"gen DESIGN, Remedy, and Playdead are among the most innovative and talented studios in the industry, with strong visions for their next games,” said Hector Sanchez, Head of Epic Games Publishing. “They will have full creative control, while Epic will provide a solid foundation of project funding and services.”

Additional information, development partners, and games will be announced in the coming months.

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55 Replies. 3 pages. Viewing page 1.
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55.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 30, 2020, 12:54
55.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 30, 2020, 12:54
Mar 30, 2020, 12:54
 
Jerykk wrote on Mar 30, 2020, 12:21:
Beamer wrote on Mar 30, 2020, 07:51:
Epic is curated as a bug. They don't have the ability to add everything, only what they think will sell. That's a nice side effect that will go away. Discoverability still sucks, and one is always better off researching off storefronts than on it.

Nah, it's not even about what's going to sell. Look at their actual selection. Did they really think Omen of Sorrow was going to sell well? Rune II? Bee Simulator? Any of the random, obscure indie games that they've given away for free?

Again, getting on EGS comes down to three things:
1) Timed exclusivity.
2) Giveaways.
3) Highly-anticipated games.

If you aren't doing one of those, you aren't getting on EGS.

You're saying the same thing, from a different perspective. They're only willing to do those 3 because those 3 get consumers on their platform. In other words, they're what will sell

Something that is only available on the platform will bring consumers to the platform. Something free will bring consumers to the platform. Something highly anticipated will bring consumers to the platform.

Something that isn't highly anticipated, isn't free, and is on Steam, will just be purchased on Steam.
54.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 30, 2020, 12:21
54.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 30, 2020, 12:21
Mar 30, 2020, 12:21
 
Beamer wrote on Mar 30, 2020, 07:51:
Epic is curated as a bug. They don't have the ability to add everything, only what they think will sell. That's a nice side effect that will go away. Discoverability still sucks, and one is always better off researching off storefronts than on it.

Nah, it's not even about what's going to sell. Look at their actual selection. Did they really think Omen of Sorrow was going to sell well? Rune II? Bee Simulator? Any of the random, obscure indie games that they've given away for free?

Again, getting on EGS comes down to three things:
1) Timed exclusivity.
2) Giveaways.
3) Highly-anticipated games.

If you aren't doing one of those, you aren't getting on EGS.
Avatar 20715
53.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 30, 2020, 07:51
53.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 30, 2020, 07:51
Mar 30, 2020, 07:51
 
Jerykk wrote on Mar 30, 2020, 03:41:
Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
It's kind of nice to have an actual curated list of high-quality content, as opposed to the Alibaba Warehouse that is Steam.

Ah, yes, high quality content like Omen of Sorrow (64 MC), Sinking City (71 MC), Bee Simulator (58 MC), Mechwarrior 5 (74 MC), Shenmue III (69 MC) and Rune II (47 MC)...

EGS' selection has nothing to do with curation. If you want to get onto EGS, you need to do one of three things:

1) Accept a timed exclusivity deal.
2) Allow your game to be one of the weekly giveaways.
3) Be a highly-anticipated, high-profile AAA game like Cyberpunk or Death Stranding.

Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
I like how it's assumed that given the choice, game developers wouldn't want their game on a store that takes 12% instead of 30%. Weather it's exclusive to that store or not, shouldn't they want their games be available to the world and not have to throw stacks of paper at Valve for the privilege?

Not a single publisher or developer has chosen to be EGS-exclusive because of the 88% cut. Those deals are entirely the result of Epic giving them significant lump sum payments. That's why every single EGS exclusive ends up on Steam and other platforms within a year. The larger cut doesn't mean shit when you're selling significantly fewer units.

As you said, publishers and developers should want their games to be as broadly available as possible. That means not being exclusive to EGS.

Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
A game which doesn't use Steamworks or SteamVR doesn't need to be on Steam.

A game that doesn't use Steam APIs doesn't need to be exclusive to Steam. Games should be available on as many distribution platforms as possible. Steam, GOG, EGS, Uplay, Origin, Game Pass, Itch.io, etc. However, exclusivity deals (like the ones Epic does) prevent that from happening.

Epic is curated as a bug. They don't have the ability to add everything, only what they think will sell. That's a nice side effect that will go away. Discoverability still sucks, and one is always better off researching off storefronts than on it.
52.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 30, 2020, 03:41
52.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 30, 2020, 03:41
Mar 30, 2020, 03:41
 
Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
It's kind of nice to have an actual curated list of high-quality content, as opposed to the Alibaba Warehouse that is Steam.

Ah, yes, high quality content like Omen of Sorrow (64 MC), Sinking City (71 MC), Bee Simulator (58 MC), Mechwarrior 5 (74 MC), Shenmue III (69 MC) and Rune II (47 MC)...

EGS' selection has nothing to do with curation. If you want to get onto EGS, you need to do one of three things:

1) Accept a timed exclusivity deal.
2) Allow your game to be one of the weekly giveaways.
3) Be a highly-anticipated, high-profile AAA game like Cyberpunk or Death Stranding.

Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
I like how it's assumed that given the choice, game developers wouldn't want their game on a store that takes 12% instead of 30%. Weather it's exclusive to that store or not, shouldn't they want their games be available to the world and not have to throw stacks of paper at Valve for the privilege?

Not a single publisher or developer has chosen to be EGS-exclusive because of the 88% cut. Those deals are entirely the result of Epic giving them significant lump sum payments. That's why every single EGS exclusive ends up on Steam and other platforms within a year. The larger cut doesn't mean shit when you're selling significantly fewer units.

As you said, publishers and developers should want their games to be as broadly available as possible. That means not being exclusive to EGS.

Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:57:
A game which doesn't use Steamworks or SteamVR doesn't need to be on Steam.

A game that doesn't use Steam APIs doesn't need to be exclusive to Steam. Games should be available on as many distribution platforms as possible. Steam, GOG, EGS, Uplay, Origin, Game Pass, Itch.io, etc. However, exclusivity deals (like the ones Epic does) prevent that from happening.
Avatar 20715
51.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 21:50
51.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 21:50
Mar 26, 2020, 21:50
 
deleted

This comment was edited on Apr 8, 2020, 02:48.
"Listen, Peter... with great horsepower comes... the sickest drifts..." - source
Avatar 18786
50.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:57
Slick
 
50.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:57
Mar 26, 2020, 19:57
 Slick
 
It's kind of nice to have an actual curated list of high-quality content, as opposed to the Alibaba Warehouse that is Steam.

I like how it's assumed that given the choice, game developers wouldn't want their game on a store that takes 12% instead of 30%. Weather it's exclusive to that store or not, shouldn't they want their games be available to the world and not have to throw stacks of paper at Valve for the privilege?

A game which doesn't use Steamworks or SteamVR doesn't need to be on Steam. It can be anywhere, the experience of the game will be 100% digitally identical no matter where you buy it from. Only the experience of launching the game is slightly different if you simply have to launch from the DRM application. If you're like me and simply double-click the shortcut on your desktop of the game you want to play, it's literally identical weather it's on uPlay, Steam, Origin, Battle.net, or EGS.

@ThePinkTiger

I hear your concerns, and they seem to mostly stem from certain games that made "a deal with the devil" to switch platforms after they took people's money from Kickstarter. EGS was only an accessory to that crime IMO.

As for "what EA did with Origin" talking about exclusives, this is a misrepresentation. They were doing EXACTLY what Valve were doing, expressing the right to self-publish the games that they themselves were making, and not having to sell them through a 3rd party for no reason who would take 30%.
Avatar 57545
49.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:47
49.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:47
Mar 26, 2020, 19:47
 
The_Pink_Tiger wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:39:
Valve said "Fuck you Vivendi, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish", and they won, and everyone cheered. Now other companies have said: "Fuck you Valve, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish." And everybody booed.

Actually, the part most people boo'd at was when the Epic said, "You can sell on our store but you can't sell it on Steam. Even if you promised your customers that you would. Even if you already took money saying that you'd do that." That's the part that got most people angry.

It's not the selling on Epic that upsets people, it's the exclusivity. Take a game like Subnautica; available on Steam but also available on EGS. Nobody is upset about that. But if they'd made it exclusive to one platform, that deserves some disdain. Especially if the platform has a significantly smaller audience and offers less features. PC gamers don't like exclusives. This preference of PC gamers was made quite obvious when EA did with Origin, so it shouldn't have surprised Epic when they followed suit.

It is true that I don't like the Epic Game Store. But this is not because I'm a "Steam fanboy"; in fact, in the beginning I was supportive of Epic's move because I agree that to some degree Valve has become complacent and needs shaking up. But I - and many others - do not like the methods Epic has chosen, and to disregard this concerns as simply "fanboyism" seems a willful blindness at best.

But Epic didn't say "you can sell here if you don't sell anywhere else." That makes them sound evil.

What they said was "you can sell here, but we only have the resources to list games that we expect to sell well. That's largely AAA titles, but also exclusives."

Which makes sense. A non-exclusive indie game would likely sell 100 copies. They didn't have the time to put in the effort for that little return.

Nothing is automated - it's manual.
48.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:39
48.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:39
Mar 26, 2020, 19:39
 
Valve said "Fuck you Vivendi, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish", and they won, and everyone cheered. Now other companies have said: "Fuck you Valve, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish." And everybody booed.

Actually, the part most people boo'd at was when the Epic said, "You can sell on our store but you can't sell it on Steam. Even if you promised your customers that you would. Even if you already took money saying that you'd do that." That's the part that got most people angry.

It's not the selling on Epic that upsets people, it's the exclusivity. Take a game like Subnautica; available on Steam but also available on EGS. Nobody is upset about that. But if they'd made it exclusive to one platform, that deserves some disdain. Especially if the platform has a significantly smaller audience and offers less features. PC gamers don't like exclusives. This preference of PC gamers was made quite obvious when EA did with Origin, so it shouldn't have surprised Epic when they followed suit.

It is true that I don't like the Epic Game Store. But this is not because I'm a "Steam fanboy"; in fact, in the beginning I was supportive of Epic's move because I agree that to some degree Valve has become complacent and needs shaking up. But I - and many others - do not like the methods Epic has chosen, and to disregard this concerns as simply "fanboyism" seems a willful blindness at best.
Avatar 54666
47.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:21
Slick
 
47.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:21
Mar 26, 2020, 19:21
 Slick
 
RedEye9 wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 19:03:
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games
World War Z, Figment and Tormentor X Punisher

World War Z here I come. I fucking hate evil money-grubbing companies that give out free games to their customers and don't rip off their developers. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Avatar 57545
46.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:13
Slick
 
46.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:13
Mar 26, 2020, 19:13
 Slick
 
@Primalchrome

In the before times, in the long long ago...

Valve said "Fuck you Vivendi, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish", and they won, and everyone cheered. Now other companies have said: "Fuck you Valve, we don't want to pay your outrageous cut of the profits, we deserve the right to self-publish." And everybody booed.

I absorbed every bit of info during Steam's 4-year legal battle against Vivendi. I'm not speaking out of ignorance. I could write a novel about the good that Steam has done for PC gaming. I could also write 7 sequels about how badly they dropped the ball, how their business model has become the dream "rent seeker" scheme, how they refuse to use their accumulated wealth and good-will to actively hire developers to make games, how they don't support the industry that they've profited off of for 16 years, how they cheat modders from a fair payday for their work... it goes on and on. I could Harry Potter that bitch.

The difference between the public perception of them as a company and the reality is stark.

The public largely sees them as the scrappy upstart, the independent game devs who "showed it to the man". Supporting Valve is a way to say "fuck you" to all the other big evil companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Blizzard. GabeN runs a small family business, as wholesome as the local strawberry stall at the farmers market.

The reality is that they are a multi-billion dollar company with only 200 employees. The service they deliver costs them pennies, and they make tens of dollars per sale. They have nothing to do with funding, designing, programming, marketing, testing, or anything to do with game development for 99.999% of the products they sell. They are a digital storefront taking a cut that would make any big-box physical retail store cry with envy.
Avatar 57545
45.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 19:03
45.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 19:03
Mar 26, 2020, 19:03
 
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games
World War Z, Figment and Tormentor X Punisher
Avatar 58135
44.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 18:32
44.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 18:32
Mar 26, 2020, 18:32
 
jdreyer wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 15:46:
Blizzard and EA don't offer most of that stuff either. Where's your outrage about all of their games not being on Steam?
Wait....what? I'm not outraged about any games not being on Steam with the exception of those that were advertised as such when the dev/publisher were accepting funds (pre-orders or kickstarter). My post was responding to the dead horse that Steam never does anything for PCGaming.

I don't like Epic or EA...and have a 'its complicated' relationship with Blizzard, but I buy stuff from other sites/portals/frontends/launchers all the time... That said, they all have their warts and I don't mind recognizing them...
Avatar 56308
43.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 18:18
43.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 18:18
Mar 26, 2020, 18:18
 
Steele Johnson wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:21:
RedEye9 wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 14:40:
I had an idea for a sit-stand desk• and IKEA helped fund it. Now they won't let me sell it at Crate and Barrel, but I knew that when I entered the dealio.

not me or my desk (also I never collaborated with IKEA on anything except the legal amount of horse and kangaroo they can include in their delicious meatballs)

How dare you make business deals and then try break them!?

Yes, but you're not mad at Crate & Barrel, are you.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
42.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:56
42.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:56
Mar 26, 2020, 17:56
 
Burrito of Peace wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:42:
Could someone please point to the specific cloud we're supposed to be yelling at?
It’s the one over there right next to the that looks like a lazyboy recliner.
Avatar 58135
41.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:55
41.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:55
Mar 26, 2020, 17:55
 
Slick wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:40:
Good thing you guise aren't "fan boi nerd"s or anything.

lulz

I absolutely am a fanboi nerd of GOG. Slowly ridding myself of Steam too.

If EPS makes their DRM launcher completely optional... I'll buy games there too.

/shrug
Get your games from GOG DAMMIT!
Avatar 19499
40.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:42
40.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:42
Mar 26, 2020, 17:42
 
Could someone please point to the specific cloud we're supposed to be yelling at?
"Just take a look around you, what do you see? Pain, suffering, and misery." -Black Sabbath, Killing Yourself to Live.

“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
Avatar 21247
39.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:41
39.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:41
Mar 26, 2020, 17:41
 
Centralized patching / Optional versioning / Beta programs

I just now remembered how terrible this was back in the day.

38.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:40
Slick
 
38.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:40
Mar 26, 2020, 17:40
 Slick
 
wtf_man wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:36:
Avus wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:02:
Blizzard and EA don't offer most of that stuff either. Where's your outrage about all of their games not being on Steam?

This is why I don't even have EA Origin and any Blizzard games in my computers.

Ditto. (Not counting older games on GoG.)

Good thing you guise aren't "fan boi nerd"s or anything.

lulz
Avatar 57545
37.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:36
37.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:36
Mar 26, 2020, 17:36
 
Avus wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 17:02:
Blizzard and EA don't offer most of that stuff either. Where's your outrage about all of their games not being on Steam?

This is why I don't even have EA Origin and any Blizzard games in my computers.

Ditto. (Not counting older games on GoG.)
Get your games from GOG DAMMIT!
Avatar 19499
36.
 
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced
Mar 26, 2020, 17:35
36.
Re: Epic Games Publishing Announced Mar 26, 2020, 17:35
Mar 26, 2020, 17:35
 
jdreyer wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 16:24:
Slashman wrote on Mar 26, 2020, 16:03:

Now if Epic starts publishing games from developers from the ground up. Awesome. I won't be buying them but that's good for Epic and doesn't involve pulling shitty moves by advertising on Steam and then not selling there.

That's exactly what this story is about. So why are you complaining?

Because that's not what they were doing before? Why are you making this so complicated?
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