The Epic Games Store entered the PC market almost five years ago with a splash due to its aggressive take on grabbing exclusives for its platform. While the cadence of exclusive releases has slowed down in recent times, Epic Games is looking to revitalize the landscape with a new offer for studios titled the Epic First Run program.
Game developers and publishers can soon receive 100% of all revenue from their PC ports instead of the usual 70%/30% split on stores like Steam, or the 88%/12% split offered by the Epic Games Store. To gain this, however, a six month exclusivity period for the game on the Epic Games Store must be agreed upon, with the revenue split going back to its regular rates following that.
Here"s how Epic is pitching its new exclusivity offer:
"The Epic Games Store is home to a huge, rapidly growing global audience with over 230 million players and 68 million monthly active users. Participating products in the Epic First Run program will be presented to those users on-store with new exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections. In addition, products will be featured in relevant store campaigns including sales, events, and editorial as applicable. Once a product joins the program, it will benefit from continued exposure throughout its Epic First Run. "
As for who is eligible, Epic says any unreleased PC game or app that has also never appeared on a subscription program can opt in for this new promotion. Epic First Run program will begin on October 16, 2023, with Epic Games developer accounts holding companies, with eligible products, being able to sign up.
While Epic exclusivity means these games won"t show up on Steam or platforms like PC Game Pass, it won"t block companies from selling their games on their own stores/launchers via direct sales. Using third-party resellers like Humble Store and Green Man Gaming will also be supported.
"After the six-month exclusivity period ends, developers are welcome to release their products on other third-party stores, while continuing to benefit from Epic’s 88%12% revenue share," Epic adds.
While these titles will be missing out on Steam"s gigantic userbase and devout fans, 100% of revenue for six months certainly seems like an enticing offer compared to Valve"s market standard 30% starting cut. We will have to wait until October to see if this offer shifts the exclusives lineup on the Epic Games Store.