Epic is making quite an epic name for itself, though not always in a good way. CEO Tim Sweeney’s tirade against Microsoft’s UWP platform and the more recent<\/b>
\nEpic is making quite an epic name for itself, though not always in a good way. CEO Tim Sweeney\u2019s tirade against Microsoft\u2019s UWP platform and the more recent Fortnite on Android drama has given the game developer and publisher a more \u201cpro-developer\u201d image. And to actually put money where its mouth is, the company has just opened the doors to its shiny new Epic Games Store to entice developers with an 88\/12 revenue sharing arrangement.
It seems that the gaming and mobile industry has adopted a 70\/30 convention almost arbitrarily. That means that developers get 70% of profits while game and app stores get 30%. When it snubbed Google Play Store on Android, Epic Games made its position clear. That was too high a price to pay.
Epic\u2019s store won\u2019t just be yet another Steam clone. Its raison d\u2019\u00eatre is to become not just a place to buy great games but a place for great developers to really make a living. That\u2019s why Epic Games is making them an offer they might not be able to refuse. Only 12% of profits will go to them. The rest, the sweet 88%, will go to developers. And if they\u2019re using Epic Games\u2019 Unreal Engine, they can even waive the usual 5% royalty Epic requires them to pay.
Of course, Epic Games\u2019 store has a long way to catch up with Steam\u2019s catalog. Its launch titles include Supergiant Games\u2019 (Bastion, Transistor) Hades, Annapurna\/A44\u2019s Ashen, and tinyBuild\u2019s prequel title Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek. Every two weeks throughout 2019, the store will also feature one free game, starting with Subnautica on December 14 to 27 followed by Super Meat Boy on December 28 to January 10.
It\u2019s clear that Epic Games is dangling the 88\/12 carrot to get more developers on board. Its success, however, will largely depend on how easy its process is and how restrictive its policies are. At the moment, Valve\u2019s Steam is also undergoing a period of introspection and review over controversial and NSFW content, though Epic\u2019s small catalog probably doesn\u2019t need such a policy yet.<\/p>\n