In the game industry, controversy doesn’t always mean failure. For instance, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was riddled with criticism on release. Many players were angry with EA’s monetization plans and accused the company of selling power in this competitive shooter. Even so, the game had a pretty successful launch, selling 9 million copies in only two months. That goes to show that there’s some merit to the adage that all publicity is good publicity. Another company that seems to benefit from this is Epic Games. The proprietors of Fortnite have gone a long way with their online game store, in spite of loads of controversy.
PC users have spent a long time criticizing the Epic Games Store. More than once, Epic Games has gotten rights to temporarily be a new game’s exclusive seller, sometimes for a whole year. Players who would rather stay on Steam or other similar services feel cheated by this kind of exclusivity. Even so, Epic Games is doing really well for itself. Although fans may not always like the way Epic Games does things, it can’t be denied that its shrewd strategies are making the company a lot of money. In spite of all the controversy, Epic Games isn’t going anywhere.
Exclusivity seems like it would work against Epic sometimes, since some players might decide not to buy games from them on principle. However, at the end of the day, not everyone feels so strongly, and a hard-to-reach game is a selling point for the Epic Games Store. Borderlands 3 is a good example. Even though its six month Epic exclusivity prompted review bombing on Steam, Borderlands 3 sold millions of copies in its first week, with a particular emphasis on PC customers. In other words, exclusivity works. Once Epic Games draws players into its store with one exclusive game, it can offer them other special opportunities as it makes more and more deals.
Exclusive games aren’t all that Epic offers players to make them stay, either. Anyone who has used the Epic Games Store knows that the company regularly offers free games, and they’re not just small, cheap games. In fact, the aforementioned Star Wars: Battlefront 2 from AAA publisher EA is available for free right now. Even if players don’t have a particular interest in whatever Epic is offering, it’s hard to say no to a free game; they’re a rare opportunity that will keep players checking the store. Epic knows how to keep players shopping from its store, which ultimately makes all of its other strategies more effective.
There’s one more important thing Epic Games does on its administrative side. Epic Games prides itself on giving game developers a bigger cut of game sales than Steam does. A generous gesture like that makes any developer pause for thought. Ultimately, it means developers are make deals like timed exclusivity contracts with Epic. If early sales are all redirected to the Epic Games Store, then both the developer and Epic Games make a pretty penny. Epic’s division of revenue affects players, too. Some shoppers might feel it’s more ethical to buy from Epic Games and give their favorite developers more money.
Like so much of the industry, Epic Games isn’t perfect. It’s gotten its fair share of criticism and controversy over the years. However, it can’t be denied that Epic Games has its finger on the pulse of the industry. It knows what developers and players alike want to see in a game store. If Epic Games’ strategies weren’t working out for it, the store would be long gone by now. Some fans might find themselves frustrated in the future by other Epic exclusive launches, but plenty of others will spend years reaping the benefits of buying from Epic Games.
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