Epic Games has announced a bold new scheme that offers developers 100% of game revenue in exchange for 6 months of exclusivity.
The Epic First Run program will allow any developer of any size to sign up, as long as their game is released on or after October 16th and hasn’t previously appeared on any other PC store. After six months, the revenue share will return to Epic Games’ standard share of 88% for the developer and 12% for Epic.
During this six-month exclusivity period, the game cannot be released on any other PC store, but can be released on consoles, as the Epic Games Store does not compete in that market.
However, developers will not be completely deprived of access to other stores. According to the program page, games can be sold through a developer or publisher’s own storefront or launcher, as well as hosted on sites like Green Man Gaming using the Epic Games Store keyless redemption program.
“Products that participate in the Epic First Run program will be presented to those users in the store with new exclusive icons, placement on the homepage and special collections,” says Epic.
“Additionally, products will be featured in relevant store campaigns, including sales, events and editorials where applicable. Once a product joins the program, it will benefit from ongoing exposure throughout the Epic First Run.”
Epic Games has been extremely aggressive when it comes to their store, pushing hard for a revenue split that benefits developers more than Steam’s standard 70/30 split, and providing timed exclusivity for dozens and dozens of games.
This new scheme will no doubt be tempting, as games typically make most of their money in the first few days and weeks of sales, meaning developers can pocket all the cash while Epic only gets a pittance after the six-month period ends. .
And while Steam continues to be the biggest showcase for PC, developers can view a game coming to Steam after six months on the Epic Games Store as a second launch.
What do you guys think? Will Epic’s latest attack tempt developers to sign up?