author: Michael Kulakowski
Epic Games Store Exclusives Start To Scare Developers Away
It turns out that not all PC developers are interested in a profitable exclusivity agreement with Epic Games Store. Some people reject the giant's proposal because they are afraid of losing their image and access to a wider audience.
Since its launch, Epic Games Store has been running an intensive campaign to bring as many exclusive titles to the store as possible. Both large and small developers have decided to sign a lucrative agreement with the giant, and in exchange for the exclusivity of selling their games on the Epic Games platform, they receive a large cash injection and a very attractive sale benefits. However, some producers do not believe that such a move pays off in the long run. In an extensive post on Reddit, Slawrp user summed up the cases of artists who admitted that they would definitely reject Epic's offer and cited the reasons behind their strong attitude.
The team that almost directly admitted to rejecting Epic Games' proposals is Dapper Penguin Studios, responsible for Rise of Industry's economic strategy, which is currently in the early access program on Steam. In an exchange of opinions on Twitter, the studio representative stated that although the agreement with Epic Games is an extremely attractive proposal, it forces the removal of the title from Steam. In the eyes of the producer, this would negatively affect his image, upset existing fans and limit access to the title to all other interested players. It is worth noting that Epic Games has denied any business proposition from their side towards Dapper Penguin Studio.
The Wube Software studio spoke in a similar tone on its own blog, prompting for the popular Factorio strategy, which after many years of functioning in the early access program within the next few months will debut in sales in the long-awaited version 1.0... The manufacturer has confirmed that it has already rejected many attractive 'investment offers' that could potentially destroy the brand it is building with various difficulties. A similar immediate refusal would also apply to any proposal for an exclusivity agreement, which would naturally divide players and the Steam fan community. The author stated that he does not believe in invasive marketing and misleading practices aimed at consumers.
Factorio strongly rejects the prospect of any exclusive agreements.
Because of continued resistance from gamers, the Epic Games Store may soon find it increasingly difficult to attract more developers to the store, especially small developers who have already built a solid fan base. Signing an exclusive contract with a giant becomes a PR nightmare in their case, as evidenced by the cases about which there has been a lot of publicity in recent months. This doesn't mean that we won't be hearing about new acquisitions of Epic Games in the near future. For some developers, the financial incentive of the store is not going to be rejected, even at the cost of losing PR value, because it allows the team to stay on the ground and pay monthly liabilities.
