Epic Games Founder Says They’ll Stop Going After Exclusives If Steam Commits to More Revenue for Developers

The Epic Games Store made a huge splash when it was first announced, with an unprecedented cut for developers for the games they make. The way the store is set up is a win for developers in a climate where it feels like every month a new studio is closing. Epic Games Store founder Tim Sweeney says that’s exactly the reason why they’re pushing so hard for exclusives, and that they are willing to stop should Steam commit to a 88/12 revenue share for the developers they sell for. 

“If Steam committed to a permanent 88% revenue share for all developers and publishers without major strings attached, Epic would hastily organize a retreat from exclusives (while honoring our partner commitments) and consider putting our own games on Steam,” Sweeney mentioned in a recent string of tweets. “Such a move would be a glorious moment in the history of PC gaming, and would have a sweeping impact on other platforms for generations to come. Then stores could go back to just being nice places to buy stuff, rather than the Game Developer IRS.”

Such a move would be a glorious moment in the history of PC gaming, and would have a sweeping impact on other platforms for generations to come.

Then stores could go back to just being nice places to buy stuff, rather than the Game Developer IRS.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 25, 2019

While many gamers have expressed wariness regarding perceived privacy concerns, the Epic Games Store itself is very developer friendly and many of the concerns have been warped with information that isn’t based on fact. Sweeney has been very vocal this past month addressing those issues, which you can read about in thorough detail here on why some of the privacy concerns are simply not valid, and has also been a huge advocate for developer support since the client’s launch.

Of course, some gamers have yet to be convinced but more and more developers are speaking out in favor for what Epic Games is doing, which is allowing more freedom to create more content with a much more appropriate return. 

As far as features for the Epic Games Store, it’s extremely lacking comparatively to Steam, though many of Valve’s features are eventually making its way to the newest client as seen in their recently released road map.