Epic Games Says Its Exclusivity Deals Have Mostly Been Failures

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Abiyan

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Steam has been the most successful platform for PC gaming, but Epic Games decided to challenge it nearly six years ago. While the company is still not profitable yet, it continues to look for ways to grow in the industry.

The platform has pursued various exclusivity deals. It has also offered free games on various occasions, but CEO Tim Sweeney says that the latter ended up being the more viable option of the two.

Why it matters: Epic Games secured exclusivity of various high-profile releases, including Alan Wake 2. The publisher hoped that this would entice PC gamers to shift from Steam.

As PC Gamer reported, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney talked with the press earlier this week about multiple topics, including the free games strategy.

The CEO revealed that giving away free titles doesn’t hurt sales. Instead, it brings in much more sales as it raises awareness of the game. He emphasized that this strategy has been amazing so far and the most cost-effective aspect of the Epic Games Store.

On the subject of exclusivity deals, Sweeney revealed that the company spent a lot of money to secure these deals. Unfortunately, only a few have proven to work well.

A few of them worked extremely well. A lot of them were not good investments.

-Tim Sweeney

The most recent example of such a deal is Alan Wake 2. According to Remedy, the title has yet to turn a profit, but this may not have been the case if the team had gone ahead with a Steam release from the beginning.

The likes of Dead Island 2 were also released exclusively on this platform for PC gamers.

As for free games, the publisher has previously given away the likes of GTA 5, Death Stranding, and more. The Callisto Protocol is also coming to the store for free later this month.

Nonetheless, Tim Sweeney is hopeful about Epic Games’ future. The company is expected to continue offering various free games as it rises through the ranks of PC gaming.

Abiyan

[News Reporter]

Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.