When Metro Exodus suddenly became a timed exclusive for the Epic Games store despite being available for pre-order through Steam previously, the PC gaming community became divided on the sudden shift it monopoly. Weighing in on the growing popularity of the latest PC client is Saber Interactive, the studio behind the upcoming World War Z game, and they seem pretty “for” the new shift.
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The latest statement comes on the heels of Saber announcing that World War Z will be opting out of Steam in favor for Epic Games with their upcoming release. Predictably, the news was met with a mixed reception which is why CEO Matthew Karch is addressing the discourse head-on with a statement of his one.
“First of all, building games is costly, and so to receive 88% instead of 70% means we can invest more into making World War Z,“ he began in an open letter on the Epic Games website.
“Second, we’re passing along much of the savings to you as gamers. The price of World War Z on the Epic Games store is being dropped to $34.99 starting now and continuing through our April 16 launch and beyond. Any players who have already pre-purchased the game for $39.99 will get the $5 refunded back to them. We are thrilled to be able to share the developer-friendly benefits of the Epic Games store with you all, and can’t wait for you to play our game.”
It’s easy to see why he would mention that this move is good for both devs and gamers alike. According to Epic Games when they first unveiled their store, “Developers receive 88% of revenue. There are no tiers or thresholds. Epic takes 12%. And if you’re using Unreal Engine, Epic will cover the 5% engine royalty for sales on the Epic Games store, out of Epic’s 12%.”
Players will also be able to subscribe to a game’s newsfeed automatically following their purchase, giving them a front-row seat to any new changes.
The new service will also be very player-friendly in terms of streaming. The streaming world has seen a massive boom in the past few years and the new client wants to help with that as well. “YouTube content creators, Twitch streamers, bloggers, and others are at the leading edge of game discovery. The 10,000-strong Epic Games Support-A-Creator program helps you reach creators, so they can help you reach players. If you opt to participate, creators who refer players to buy your game will receive a share of the revenue that you set (tracked by code or affiliate marketing link). To jumpstart the creator economy, Epic will cover the first 5% of creator revenue-sharing for the first 24 months.”
Thoughts on Epic Games and the rising popularity of their store for developers? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.
