Epic Games has recently announced that developers are now able to self-publish their games on the Epic Games Store (EGS). With this new option, the number of games appearing on the store is likely to increase significantly, potentially causing a major shift in the industry.
Epic Games takes a 12 percent cut on game sales, allowing developers to keep the remaining 88 percent.
Developers may now be enticed to release their games on the EGS due to the favourable revenue sharing system. Epic Games takes a 12 percent cut on game sales, allowing developers to keep the remaining 88 percent. In contrast, Valve's competing Steam marketplace typically takes a 30-percent commission, although this percentage may decrease if a game achieves certain sales targets.
In addition, Epic Games may not take a share of revenue from in-app purchases. Developers are allowed to keep the entire amount if they choose to use their own payment system.
Another advantage of publishing on the EGS is that free age ratings will be provided through a partnership with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). Epic Games Store CEO, Tim Sweeney, believes that this feature could be a significant distinguishing factor for the platform. According to him, the absence of easily accessible rating systems has long been a problem for many developers in the PC gaming ecosystem.
Epic Games guidelines for self-publishing resemble those of Steam, but there are some differences. EGS enforces two significant rules that Steam does not, namely the prohibition of pornographic content on its storefront and the requirement for multiplayer games to be crossplay-compatible with all PC stores. Additionally, games submitted to EGS that feature achievements on other PC platforms must include Epic's achievements as well. In contrast to Steam though, EGS does not have a policy against blockchain games.
By publishing your game on the EGS you'll have access to an audience of over 230 million users from all over the world.
The fee for submitting a game to the EGS is the same as Steam: $100.
Compared to Steam, the EGS may eventually have a more rigorous review process for quality and functionality. Steve Allison, the General Manager of the EGS, has stated that every game submission will be played for 20 minutes to ensure that it launches correctly and is consistent with the game's representation on the store page. Valve is also following a similar procedure, but in the past, the company has expressed hesitance towards making subjective judgments related to quality or taste.
According to Epic Games stats, by publishing your game on the EGS you'll have access to an audience of over 230 million users from all over the world.
You can learn more about this topic by visiting the Epic Games self-publishing tools announcement page.
