Billionaire Tim Sweeney: Free Games > Exclusivity Deals for Epic Games Store

[squirrels_oh_no]

Tim Sweeney Says Many Epic Games Store Exclusivity Deals "Were Not Good Investments" https://t.co/WV8kC5ZYlY pic.twitter.com/hd8agWPmk7
- GameSpot (@GameSpot) August 16, 2024
- North Carolina's second richest man says exclusivity deals lost Epic Games (creators of Fortnite and Unreal Engine) money and were not a good investment for the company

Comments

[pepsi_twist9]

I mean this seems very obvious?

[squirrels_oh_no]

It is, especially since beyond a few key titles, not many of their exclusive offerings are things that might get people to actually download and use the Epic Games Store. The free games are what gets people in, and even then I've met people who refuse to download it even with the free games + big discounts + coupon codes Epic gives out regularly. I got Death Stranding and Cyberpunk 2077 both fairly quickly after they came out for $20 or less because of discounts and coupons. Only game I've ever paid full price for was Alan Wake 2 because I preordered it. I even waited for Alan Wake Remastered to be cheap before I got that since I've gotten Alan Wake itself multiple times for free from Epic or with bundles, enough that I've given others codes LMAO. Alan Wake and Control. How did I manage to get like 4 free copies of Control?!

[hyperpop]

The free games have been so bad lately, but that they exist at all is the only reason I ever fuck with epic. Knowing epic, the day will come when they take them all back because we never really ‘owned’ them.

[squirrels_oh_no]

Yeah, I still "buy" most of the free ones, but I don't really play any of them. They're just there in case I get really bored. I have almost 200 games on Epic now and I've bought maybe 5 of them.

[hyperpop]

Same, once in a while I’ll realize there’s a game I always wanted to check out that I had no idea I’d already gotten but even just opening the epic launcher is such a pain in the ass I usually do something else instead lol

[squirrels_oh_no]

Trying to just get a list of all the games you own takes so many stupid clicks, and even then the UI is just terrible and crowded with info. You click a game you own to get more detail, and what does it do? Tries to download it instead. It's like Tubi where you click for info and the movie just plays instead, like wtf? I just want to read a synopsis, not see that apparently I played 135 hours of Fortnite?! IN WHAT WORLD?! No. NOOOO.

[wwgrogudo]

Hmmmmm

Well MS is letting go of more Xbox exclusives - do what you need to do.

I've played Fornite (and won once!!) but never had an EA account - I am thinking of getting one for Baby Yoda.

I wonder how much he goes for. 🤔

[squirrels_oh_no]

I think even when it's just a free launcher/storefront and not an entire $500 system, people aren't gonna go out of their way to use it unless they have a very enticing reason, and since Epic doesn't have a lot of exclusive games people want to buy, it's free shit that gets them in the door. And the free games are things like Floppy Knights, which I def got for free but will I ever play it? No. How does that make Epic money if I've bought 5 things from them ever and yet have 195 games in my library? I spent way more money at the mall they tore down - hell, at the CLAIRE'S in the mall they bought to tore down to maybe build their new HQ (I used to live literally on the same road less than a mile away) - than I have in the Epic Games store ever.

[wwgrogudo]

That's a good point re storefront. Like I played FN through Game Pass on Xbox (and I'm not even sure I need GP.)

But it's skins and battle passes and DLC I guess (and in-game currency I think) that makes $ and if you don't need a lau cer for that and holding space for games that make you no money - then maybe get rid of it. Totes agree.

[squirrels_oh_no]

I will be real, unless it's a game I really want (Alan Wake 2 - and I am still miffed they didn't sell physical copies even on PS/Xbox) or they give me discounts + coupons at the same time (Death Stranding and Cyberpunk), I will go to Steam. Sorry Epic Games, my local game company from down the road, but Steam remains better in the UI department. Valve has gotten way more of my money than Epic will unless for some reason they agree to publish Control 2 in which case, *sigh* here's $70.

[helliosx]

I know Epic had timed exclusivity on a lot of console ports, and stuff like Borderlands 3 launched with a year exclusivity too.

A month or two ago Kingdom Hearts series dropped on Steam, when it had been on Epic for at least a year if not more, and literally everyone acted like Kingdom Hearts is FINALLY on PC... I do not get storefront loyalty. Not to mention, I've played quite a few of the free games (I think I've claimed every one, bar for 2-3 since they started doing this in 2018) and that's more than I can say for Steam.

IDK monopoly is de-facto bad and nobody is standing up against Steam, and Gabe will not live forever, and they'll start exploiting their position as an industry leader to detriment both to gamers and developers/publishers.

[squirrels_oh_no]

I get what you're saying for real. I wish EGS had a better UI because it's just aggressively meh. I know (well, knew - we no longer speak LOL) a guy who refused to even consider downloading Epic Games even when a game he wanted was free on it. And I have no clue what his issue was. He didn't even seem to know, he was just THAT loyal to Steam for unknown reasons.

[moirasrose]

the whole genesis does what nintendon't thing really rotted some people's brains, but i can understand it from a perspective that you want all your games in one place. that's a major reason i stick to playstation.

[squirrels_oh_no]

I get that. I played one game on Gamepass and then bought the Ultimate Edition on Steam (it was Control since I mentioned that in my post lmao) and because I couldn't transfer saves, I just went and watched the Control DLCs on Youtube instead of having to immediately replay the game LOL.

[xbenji65]

I'm late to the party but I started playing Fortnite this year and am now addicted.
I'm ashamed to have spent money on skins (characters/costumes) at least $130 so far.

[squirrels_oh_no]

I bought the 80s aerobics skin like season 1 and I've played the game like 20 minutes since then LMAO.

the woman looks like gaga

[su_metal]

[jirppah]

I for the longest time rejected the thought of playing fortnite. Then my friends talked me into it and I'm also addicted. I've now played since november 2022 and I haven't got bored of it. the only part I hate is that there are some cool skins I will never get (mystique for example) since I did not play when they were on a battle pass