The digital games distribution space is heating up with the announcement of the Epic Games Store this morning by the developer of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine.
The Epic Games Store is set to be a curated digital distribution service with a handful of hand-picked titles by one of the longest-running game developers and publishers in the industry. Interestingly, this brand new store will have an 88 percent/12 percent revenue split according to a press release from the company. This revenue split is much better than the industry standard of 30 percent as seen with Steam, iTunes, and many other digital storefronts.
A good bit of Epic’s recent success is arguably owed to YouTubers and Twitch streamers. These entertainers will be able to get a little something back with the Epic Games Store as it will feature integration with the Support-A-Creator program. This program will allow creators to earn money when their fans make purchases at the Epic Games Store or when they spend V-Bucks within Fortnite. Although specifics aren’t yet mentioned, this is likely going to be some sort of affiliate-linking program.
The 88/12 revenue split will certainly be tempting for developers. Epic Games has decided to go a step further and waive all royalties for the Unreal Engine on games that are sold through the Epic Games Store. That said, the store will still happily sell games made with other engines. Its initial offerings will be curated by the company for the PC & Mac. The library of games and the availability of platforms will expand in the coming years.
An interview with Game Informer has some more details about the store. The Epic Games Store will be integrated into the Epic Games Launcher and also available as a standalone website. Although the initial selection will be curated, they expect to open things up to more developers so long as they meet a “reasonable quality threshold”. Aside from Epic’s own offerings, the company is looking into hiring developers to produce exclusive works for the storefront.
More details on upcoming releases from Epic Games will be announced at The Game Awards on Thursday, December 6, 2018. We may very well be hearing some more news about what to expect from the Epic Games Store, too – make sure to tune in!
Image credit: Epic Games
