The Ongoing Disasters of the EPIC Games Store

So I guess Valve does throw devs a bone by letting them sell keys elsewhere.

I just bought Civ VI Digital Deluxe edition directly through 2K for $19.99 (It's $79.99 through Steam). I guess they don't mind selling keys themselves at that price when the sale price directly through steam would probably net them around the same amount of money. Considering like an enticing 60% off sale would be $22 in 2K's pocket. If they were going to run a 75% off sale (which is what it was basically) and do it themselves instead of using Steam it's an extra $6 per sale in their own pocket.

 

It's good to strategize when buying long released games on Steam. Only buying during sales, and there are tools to help you track the history of Steam sales for games.

Here's the history for your recent purchase:

Sid Meier's Civilization VI - Digital Deluxe
https://steamdb.info/sub/123216/

Right now there is no discount, bad time to buy / compare, recently the lowest is $23.99, so you still saved a few bucks, and it's nice Steam allows that key market outside of Steam to thrive. Steam has helped me adjust / fix external key's I've purchased to help make them work on Steam, which is awesome of them to do.

 

Yeah, and that $23.99 sale only nets 2K $16.73 with Steam's 30% cut. I'm sure they were testing the waters to see how many people would bite directly through them vs sticking to the steam store.

 

I would expect Civ / 2k to have done more than enough in sales to get the better rates for Steam's "cut", better than 30%.

 

That's why any time a game goes epic exclusive I'm going to wait for a steam sale. I save money the devs/publishers get spanked for their anti consumer practices. Everyone is happy.

Plus with the state of gaming as it is now I GET THE FULL GAME FOR HALF THE PRICE NO MORE FREE BETA TESTING FOR THEM. =) =) =)


Edit: my sleep addled brain didn't register properly.

In all honesty I would prefer to go through steam still, I can access it on any device. I won't blame a dev for selling on their own site hell I would encourage it, make it more available anywhere as long as we can all play together.

My biggest beef with epic is it's not cost effective for me and it's locked down and enclosed in its little thing.
Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

That's been the case for many years though. It's always been better to buy a year or three later so you can get all the patches and a huge discount.

 

This is incredibly hard to do when it's a game you know, looks great and you've been waiting for it for a long time.

So far it's only been Metro but I've resisted the temptation and not touched epic...

 

Deep Silver deactivates Metro Exodus Steam keys stolen from a factory
" We were not aware that they had gotten into the wrong hands."
Wesley Yin-Poole, Deputy Editor
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...after-deactivating-keys-stolen-from-a-factory

" Deep Silver has issued a warning to Steam users after it deactivated Metro Exodus keys that were stolen from a factory. In a post on Steam, the publisher said it had been made aware of illegal stolen keys for 4A Games' post-apocalyptic adventure, which were then sold by an unofficial key reseller."

"Deep Silver has issued a warning to Steam users after it deactivated Metro Exodus keys that were stolen from a factory.

In a post on Steam, the publisher said it had been made aware of illegal stolen keys for 4A Games' post-apocalyptic adventure, which were then sold by an unofficial key reseller.

The Steam version of Metro Exodus was available for pre-order until 28 January 2019 directly via the Steam store. No official Steam keys were available to purchase separately (Humblebundle and the Razer store were the only supported key sellers for Metro Exodus outside the Epic Games store upon launch)..."

Deep Silver deactivates 'Metro Exodus' keys stolen from a factory
An unintended consequence of switching game store launch plans before release.
Rachel England, @rachel_england, 04.02.19 in AV
https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/02/deep-silver-deactivate-metro-exodus-stolen-keys/

"If you've been sold a code for post-apocalyptic adventure Metro Exodus, you might want to check where it came from. According to publisher Deep Silver, a number of keys have been stolen from the factory where physical key printing for the game had been taking place, before it became an Epic Games Store exclusive. In a post on Steam, the company explained that physical keys don't have the necessary files to run "as they were not meant to be released."

As third party sellers have been selling Steam keys for a game that's no longer even on Steam, they're obviously illegal. Deep Silver has deactivated the stolen keys and recommends that, if you've been affected, to "contact the seller who sold you the key and demand a refund."

The only supported key sellers for the game were HumbleBundle and the Razer store -- where pre-orders were honored. For now, though, you'll have to get it through the Epic Games Store, or wait for Metro Exodus to return to Steam after February 14, 2020."

 

I always like seeing more level headed reporting on this.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/5/18295833/epic-games-store-controversy-explained

 

Not a lot of love for Polygon...

Solo 1 week ago
"Polygon's opinion on anything is irrelevant, they themselves are irrelevant, an absolute joke of a media site is what they are"

Mateo McLovin 1 week ago
"Remember When Polygon struggled to play Doom who cares about them"

Donald McKenney 2 days ago
Polygon: We don't see anything new or impressive. Also Polygon: I can't beat the Cuphead tutorial.

bcklnd 6 days ago
"Polygon? Who's polygon? An irrelevant media site? Wait, let me just try to make their opinion anything but irrelevant. Nope, sorry, not happening, can still see overwatch praise"

at1god1 1 week ago
"You know it's gonna be a great game if Polygon hates it"

Many more here:

 

All the claims of sales from Epic and 4A are complete horsecrap. High sales have nothing to do with Epic Store.

FYI: Metro Last Light on Steam in the first week of sales out sold Metro 2033's entire lifetime sales.

 

Are you referring to this?

Metro: Last Light first-week sales surpass 2033 lifetime sales in US
Deep Silver finds great success in 4A Games' dystopian title
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-week-sales-surpass-2033-lifetime-sales-in-us

The pre-sales from Steam + Retail box sales would be driven by Steam and co-advertising before Epic was on the scene, that's what I assumed + the intervening years have transitioned more sales to digital + a larger audience for the IP built up over time.

Did you have any source link(s) to share?

 

Yup exactly. Also Last Light was released in 2013. The popularity of Metro has vastly increased in the past 6 years.

Epic sales of Exodus exceeding Last Light far as I'm concerned is not a sign of success. If this was exclusive to GoG, would have been the same.

 

It will be interesting if Deep Silver / Valve release sales numbers from Steam vs Epic a year from now, as they should get a nice bump from release on Steam.

 

I doubt it. It would run counter to their narrative, of epic being better than steam in every way possible.

Also as for borderlands ehhhhhhhh Randy Pitchford lost my money when he lost his usb allegedly full of CP.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

Except for the irrational blockade on the game, honestly a good game should just sell regardless of what digital wrapper is on it. The game plays the same regardless.

 

The white van speaker scam explained, and how it moved to Craigslist and Facebook
Ryan Waniata @ryanwaniataPOSTED ON08.17.18 - 2:29PM PST
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/dont-be-a-sucker-the-white-van-speaker-scam-explained/

"You walk out of Home Depot with a new faucet for that bathroom project you’ve been putting off, and as you head to your car, two guys in a windowless van roll up. At this point, your instincts should tell you that nothing good could come of the situation, but then the friendly guy behind the wheel tells you he’s got the deal of the century for you. Suddenly, you can’t help but take a closer look at what might be a potential steal to be had.

We feel for you if you’ve fallen for the scam, but the fact is, you no longer have any excuse with today’s technology being what it is. You have a lengthy Wikipedia entry on the subject and dozens of caught-in-the-act videos on YouTube at your disposal, not to mention a general cavalcade of consumers on forums, blogs, and watchdog sites, all ready to warn you about what’s become known as the white van speaker scam. Yet, as you read this, someone, somewhere, is falling victim to the hoax.

The white van speaker scam is a global phenomenon, still active in multiple cities on multiple continents. It subsists because of the avarice of those who conceived of it, the cunning of those who sell it, and, most of all, the ignorance of those ensnared by it. Fortunately, a little information can go a long way in helping you see the scam for what it truly is."

Different medium, same idea, don't fall for the Epic "Exclusive" van in the parking lot. You'll end up paying more than it's worth - getting less for your money.

 

You don't need to feel bad for me, I do not. It's just a game.

 

I think eventually Epic Store will have, if not more, same functions as Steam. We need to remember Steam is working for (15?) years now and Epic is much newer... They need to improve their store, there is no doubt, but I recall Steam launch... How many functionalities had Steam at that time?

 

Fantasy vs. Reality
Belief vs Fact
Future vs. Now

PC Game Exclusives vs. Anything Else...

Epic will need to succeed, start turning a profit, and live down it's horribly misguided beginnings - then survive 15 years - to be where Steam is today.

Yeah, it might happen. Let's check back in 15 years. Until then, no Epic for me.

 

This incident reminds me of myself. 10 years ago, when I thought I could simply remove credit/debit card billing
on my websites and replace them with other billing methods.

The result was 90% less sales.

Decades ago, I recall a common phrase in the retail industry "Impulse Purchase".
If it's difficult or tricky or time consuming for the customer to make a purchase, the impulse buyer will give up.
and impulse buying can be more than 50% of all sales.

I personally only use steam, no origin, no uplay, no MS store, and certainly no epic.
There are more than enough games on steam for me to play for the rest of my life.

Remember the time when toolbars were popular?
http://wishmeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Computer-Memes-27.jpg

 

I'm perfectly fine using GOG and then adding a barebones link to the game in the steam launcher. I just ignore their silly launcher, I don't want to have 3-4 launchers all over the place.

The exclusivity and forced ecosystems of EA and Epic though? There's enough games elsewhere not to bother.

 

Guys, I have a code for Metro Exodus that I got with my laptop, in order to redeem this code I will use GeForce Experience but then would I need to download the Ubisoft Platform to install it or is it done through Steam?

I already have Steam, Origin, and UPlay and would prefer not to have to install yet another gaming platform for that one game.

 

You probably have to redeem it at epic.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

Uplay is Ubisoft platform, however Metro Exodus is not Ubisoft title.
Basically what @NuclearLizard said, you need Epic Game Launcher for this game.

 

You have to redeem in Epic through nVidia Geforce Experience.

 

Yea, in not a big fan of the EGS and would suggest avoiding it if you can but for sure claim your game give it a playthrough or two and then uninstall.

IMO metro is a 9/10 game and the experience should not be passed up.

I just wish we could buy it on our preferred storefronts. (Not gonna use platform as that's incorrect)

I truly hope you enjoy the game though.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

Another level-headed article arises amidst ashes of irrational trash fires.

THE EPIC GAMES STORE IS NOT OUR ENEMY
https://www.gamecrate.com/opinion-epic-games-store-not-our-enemy/22691

BS about Tencent being an Chinese govt agent
"Tencent is not the Chinese government."

"they have a little less than a 5 percent stake in Activision-Blizzard",

"5 percent in Ubisoft, a majority stake in Grinding Gears Games (Path of Exile)",

"Epic Games and its employees are not spies for the Chinese government"

" If you use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, or nearly any other application or service where you post photos, check-in, etc., your data is out there."
Same thing I've been saying all along, Epic are two grains of sand in the user data beach.

Cries of their platform isn't secure
"...and Steam doesn’t exactly have a squeaky-clean record. A cursory search shows a decade long bug could have been used to take over a user’s computer remotely and was not addressed until March of 2018."

"Just six months ago, Valve paid out a $20,000 bug bounty for an exploit that would allow someone to acquire codes for any game."
This doesn't even begin this story, my own Steam account got hacked multiple times due to holes in Steam, not my own fault, thankfully I was able to get it back but sometimes it took many DAYS.

Review bombing because people are irrational gang mentality idiots.
"There are proper ways to voice your concerns, this is not one of them. As Kotaku points out, Borderlands on Steam won’t suffer from this review bombing, but other games easily could. A small developer getting reviewed bombed could bankrupt the company and cost people their jobs before anyone has even played the game they released."

Steam 30% Tax because they had no competition
" But at what cost? Developers are potentially losing a lot of money by releasing their game on Steam. If Epic Games (or Discord) wants to court a developer and offer them more money for their hard work, why shouldn’t they go with Epic Games? Why are we angry at Epic Games for offering a game developer more money?"

"What developer wouldn’t take that deal, especially when six months later you’ll be released on the other platforms? Borderlands 3 will come to other platforms, unlike many other games that remain exclusive titles through game launchers. Activision-Blizzard. Origin. People aren’t angry at them for being even more exclusive with their games. Santa Monica Studios released God of War for only the Playstation 4. There’s no outrage."

"When calling Epic Games greedy, let’s not forget how much money Valve makes off of other people’s work. They make a lot of money through the Steam Workshop. According to this Polygon article, Valve boasted that they paid out $57 million to people who created in-game items. But as Polygon pointed out, that’s just 25 percent of what those items sold for. Valve pocketed $171 million from the $228 million that users alone generated. All Valve did was provide a platform. To me, that’s a lot of free money that should be going to the creator."
Theoretically, if that was done in the Epic Games store with their ratio, creators would have been given $200 million of that $228 million for their hard work."

I mean, I'm probably just talking at a brick wall here. No one likes to be wrong. We've seen that play out so many times. People will even rail against their own best interests just to NOT BE WRONG. It's pretty sad...

 

Chinese foreign investment usually starts out as a partial investment, as large investors become larger investors, until they own the company.

Tencent owns 40% of Epic (48.5% of public stock), already close enough to controlling interest without much remaining to transfer, complete ownership could occur at any time given the usual Chinese purchasing game plan.

As with Grindr:

" January 2016 - Kunlun Group Limited, a gaming company based in Beijing. Kunlun first invested in Grindr in January 2016, taking a 60 percent stake for $93 million."

" January 2018 - Kunlun first invested in Grindr in January 2016, taking a 60 percent stake for $93 million. The investment valued the West Hollywood startup at $155 million.

In May, the companies announced that Kunlun would buy the rests of Grindr.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed when the sale closure was announced on Friday, but in May, Reuters reported that the total purchase price would be $152 million.

At that time, Simkhai also said that he would be staying on at the company, but he is now exiting.

Yahui Zhou, chairman of the board, will serve as interim CEO, with Vice Chairman Wei Zhou taking on the executive vice chairman and CFO roles, and Facebook and Instagram veteran Scott Chen joining as CTO.

"We are extremely excited about the excellent work Grindr is doing in becoming a leading global technology company, serving and supporting our users no matter where they are in the world, Yahui Zhou said in a statement.

Citing the "strength and global reach of our community,” Simkhai added, “I look forward to Grindr and Kunlun's continued commitment to building tolerance, equality, and respect around the world."

Launched in 2009 and boostrapped until the Kunlun investment in 2016, Grindr is the largest LGBTQ mobile social network in the world with 3.3 million daily active users."

And, now the sale is unraveling, being undone for US Security reasons:

Rare Grindr Block As U.S. Forces Chinese Owner To Sell
Kori Hale, Apr 11, 2019, 08:43am
https://www.forbes.com/sites/koriha...-s-forces-chinese-owner-to-sell/#44dcf15f5133

U.S. officials order Chinese company to sell Grindr
CBS News
Published on Apr 13, 2019
"U.S. officials have ordered a Chinese company to sell the gay dating app Grindr over national security concerns. CBS News contributor Isaac Stone Fish joins CBSN to discuss."


These same security worries goes with the progression of ownership toward access to the Epic Store App, update system, game installers, and client application / services.

Look at the shoddy work done with 40% influence, bad developer actions already were digging through the users private Steam Folder - and who knows where else in the system, so what will / can happen as a progression over time?

And that progression of control and access is what people are worried about. Why get involved with the Epic Store and put your money into something that has already started down the wrong path?

Even if the Chinese control and access isn't dangerous now, the progression toward total ownership, access to IP and control of assets is the progression of goals for Chinese investment.

As a gamer, why invest your hard earned money to hang around waiting for the eventual "OMG! What have I done!?" event when you can avoid it right now by not getting involved.

Fortunately there are plenty of other places to put your gaming money that don't have this potential downside. Like Grindr patrons, you can choose other services.

I hope people continue to apply scrutiny over the Epic Store software, and the company itself. We give too easy access to our PC data as it is, we need to stop being so easy to fool and be taken advantage of, for our own good.

China through Tencent has tightened control over the things they can in progressively increasing ways over the years, and why wouldn't they do that with foreign investments?

Why stick your head in the sand and let it happen to you too?

 

Epic Exclusive Deal EXPOSED: The $ Reason Why This Crowdfunded Game Went With Epic & Dev Pressure
Bellular News
Published on Apr 21, 2019
Well, this is an interesting one. Epic Game Store exclusive Phoenix Point was partially funded through Fig investment - meaning that investors have been kept up to date with the games financial performance, including revenue resulting from the Epic Game Store exclusivity deal.


Michael Minnick 6 hours ago (edited)
"One rule of good business is to keep your promises. A lot of these companies are making promises to their customers and then breaking those promises. This is not good business and proves that greed is more important to them than customer relations. Companies that do this are proving to customers that they are untrustworthy."

blehblehbleh 6 hours ago
"To turn your back on the people who believed in you for money. Yea, never installing Epic launcher; never played epic games and never going to play them now."

Artorius 6 hours ago
"It's pretty scummy to say ''We can refund everyone and still turn a profit thanks to Epic'', that just shows how little you actually care about the very people that made your project possible. They literally used their backers to get it going.. then turned around and took a big bag of money from Epic while flipping the bird to their backers."

EPIC’s Big Exclusive Change: Borderlands 3 On THIRD PARTY Stores & The Steam V EGS Payment Divide
Bellular News
Published on Apr 18, 2019
Epic have opened up their store to additional third party retailers, including with exclusive titles like Borderlands 3.


The Postal Dude 3 days ago
"Epic is doing a great job helping us gamers save money by convincing us not to buy from them.

Chefmaks 1 day ago
"That's actually the case. I would have bought ANNO 1800 on Steam, not on the EGS. Same with Borderlands 3 when it's released. And I am most definitely not the only one, all of my friends do the same."

a dragon 3 days ago
"So steam covers a ton of costs at the risk of their own profit and EGS puts those costs on consumers? And that's good because?"

Grim Begotten 3 days ago
"Metro Exodus in Steam was 29.99$ for me and it was 35$ in EGS (actually it was 50$ at first, before they added regional pricing). And it not supported my payment processor as well, so cost raised to 39.5$. Or 10$ more than it was in Steam (or 30% more). So it is inconvinient, you need to pay more, it doesn't have any features and it is not safe (as many accounts are hacked all the time). Sounds like dystopia or cyberpunk!"

EPIC CEO 180s On Steam Snipe Stance, Tencent Bring ANOTHER Store To West, Slow Death of Gamestop
Bellular News
Published on Apr 9, 2019
The crazy pace of storefront news continues, we have big news from the big 3 console makers, and far more.


Rogue of Life 1 week ago (edited)
"So basically we can’t trust anything that the Epic company says? Got it. Also why do I get the sense that Tencent just took notes from Epic’s game launcher when they made their own western launcher?"

Angel Grunts 1 week ago (edited)
"Tencent is pouring money into Epic to buy exclusives, and it will eventually merge Epic with WeGame. Tencent didn’t buy 48.4% of a competitor without planning to take over eventually."

RAB L 1 week ago (edited)
"Wow, tencent releases a store that’s probably gonna be shady as all hell and even THAT has features the epic store lacks, that says a lot"

Pvt. Duckling 1 week ago
"Got an email a few days ago from Epic: "Your password has been changed" I haven't logged in for at least 6 months, and I have 2FA. I didn't even get an email about a suspicious login... This is the 4th time this has happened. I will never give them my credit card info. No matter the games."

Tencent Controls 15% of Gaming Market and Brought In Nearly $20 Billion in 2018
Max Moeller / April 18, 2019 at 5:12 PM
https://techraptor.net/content/tencent-controls-15-gaming-revenue-brought-20-billion-2018

"Tencent, the biggest games company in the world, brought in nearly $20 billion of global games revenue last year. This number makes them the number one company in terms of revenue and converts to around 15% of the entire market answering definitively how big is Tencent in gaming.

This number comes to us via Newzoo’s latest report on the top 25 Public Companies by Game Revenues. Tencent’s estimated revenue is $19.7 billion, with Sony in second at $14.2 and Microsoft following at $9.8. Overall, the top 25 brought in $134.9 billion in total – a staggering amount.

One should also note that these numbers “exclude hardware sales and other non-game sales.” That and many of them are estimates, not exact as not all public companies itemize gaming separately. In cases where they do – like Tencent – we have a very sure idea where they are while some estimates were applied to companies like Sony, Google, and Apple.. The big 3’s figures account for revenues from things like Xbox Live, Nintendo’s eShop, and PlayStation Network for Sony.

Overall, the top 13 companies jump up in revenue year-over-year. Tencent went up 9%, Sony 41%, Microsoft 32%, and Nintendo 36%. Sony saw the most significant jump of the entire list with Nintendo and TakeTwo close behind.

However, we can expect these numbers to shift dramatically over the next couple of years. This is due to Apple and Google formally entering the gaming space. Apple with its Apple Arcade initiative, and Google with its Stadia streaming platform. Google and Apple are already effectively major players, ranking in the top 10 thanks to the amount of money made on their mobile phone stores from gaming.

A list of the Top 10 companies and their revenues for 2018:

• Tencent – $19.7 billion
• Sony – $14.2 billion
• Microsoft – $9.8 billion
• Apple – $9.5 billion
• Activision Blizzard – $6.9 billion
• Google – $6.9 billion
• NetEase – $6.2 billion
• Electronic Arts – $5.3 billion
• Nintendo – $4.3 billion
• Bandai Namco – $2.7 billion

Also, according to PCGamesInsider, $50 billion in revenue was brought in during the first half of 2018. While that was a rise of 12% year-over-year, it was the lowest first half-year growth since 2014. On top of that, console providers broke NewZoo’s predictions with 20% growth over 2017.

Speaking of the console market, all we know is about to change. The other day, Sony revealed some specs for its new system. There are rumors of an upgraded Switch coming, and we’re all but sure Microsoft will announce the next generation Xbox on top of its All-Digital Xbox One at E3 later this year."

https://techraptor.net/?s=tencent

The Epic Games Store is BROKEN and it's Being COVERED UP!
Skullzi TV
Published on Apr 18, 2019
The Epic Games Store is having a serious issue that nobody is talking about!


Looks like a long ongoing issue...

Similar issue with Unreal Engine developer interface?

Are you ready? Ready for... Entropy?

Tencent's 'WeGame X' store launches internationally
4/9/2019
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tencents-wegame-x-store-launches-internationally/ar-BBVLwqw

"Chinese internet giant Tencent has made its PC gaming store available outside of China via portal registered in Hong Kong, with 22 games available and support from companies behind the "Metro," "No Man's Sky" and "Divinity" games on the way.

After PC gaming platform Steam partnered with Chinese publisher Perfect World in November 2018 over an officially sanctioned Steam China service, Chinese company Tencent is launching its own game client internationally, as PC Gamer reports.

Available through the site's Hong Kong portal, WeGame X has launched with a focused selection of titles.

Several indie releases in side-scrolling action game "ICEY" and, particularly, wholesome homesteading game "My Time in Portia," have already been well received internationally on computer and console, and Chinese-language life sim "Chinese Parents" had previously topped the Steam sales charts.

Others, though already made available outside of China, may be lesser known on a global scale but nevertheless can boast of having attained positive user ratings since earlier launches on Steam -- fruit-based action game "Juicy Realm," refugee adventure "Home Behind," grim reaper puzzle "Death Coming," light and shadow puzzle adventure "Iris.Fall" among them.

In addition, WeGame X Hong Kong teases upcoming partnerships with European publishers and developers Deep Silver, Larian Studios, and Hello Games.

Deep Silver's stable includes the "Metro," "Saints Row," and "Dead Island" franchises, plus recently released, ambitiously meticulous small-team fantasy adventure "Outward," while Larian is known for the story-driven role-playing franchise "Divinity," and Hello Games has been delivering iterative improvements to sci-fi universe explorer "No Man's Sky" since a 2016 launch.

Tencent has a stake in "Fortnite" developer Epic Games, which owns and operates the Epic Games Store, launched in December 2018.

Like EGS, as well as the Steam store, GOG, Itch.io, and game stores run by publishers like Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, WeGame X has its own standalone PC client application, which Tencent is calling Entropy.
© Provided by AFPRelaxNews WeGame's predecessor, the Tencent Games Platform, had 200 million users by the time it rebranded."

Randy Pitchford Again SLAMS Steam, Explains Support For Borderlands 3 Epic Store Exclusivity
LegacyKillaHD
Published on Apr 14, 2019
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford believes Steam will fall, explains his support of the Borderlands 3 Epic Games Store exclusivity deal!


Borderlands 3 Epic Games Store Exclusivity | Gearbox CEO Attacks Fans and PC Gamers
Griffin Gaming
Published on Apr 9, 2019
Borderlands 3 is an Epic Games Store Exclusive for 6 months until April 2020 and guess what happened. Borderlands got review bombed on Steam as a result. In response to this, our favorite game dev, magician, and Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford, decided it was a good idea to attack Borderlands fans and PC gamers on Twitter. Our pal Randy even threatened to pull all Borderlands and Gearbox games off of Steam completely. Attacking your customers is always a great idea. At this point I am debating whether or not I will even buy this game when it comes to Steam if Randy keeps this up.


Negative Reviews, Piracy and Boycotts: Epic Still Doesn't Care
Laymen Gaming
Published on Apr 4, 2019
We all suspected Borderlands 3 would be an Epic exclusive.. and yep.. it's an Epic Exclusive.

 

It's like Epic's turned rabid - running around infecting publishers, games, and now developers turning them into Epic Zombies - with gamers afraid it'll be their favorite game infected next - killing the long nurtured community based in Steam play, check out the responses to the announcement in twitter and this youtube video:

https://twitter.com/RocketLeague/status/1123671322687680520

Epic Games Buys Rocket League & Will REMOVE From Steam
TheQuartering
Published on May 1, 2019
Epic Games Makes Another Play buying out Rocket League and making it an epic exclusive. Great.


Chance Assembly 7 hours ago
"FML. First epic takes one of my favorite games (Paragon) and just straight up kills it in favor of its child friendly shooter Fortnite (Which i cannot stand btw). Now they buy my all time favorite game RL.. they're gonna screw it up I just know it. I don't trust this company and I want nothing to do with them but now im forced to have to deal with this bs. Great."

KillerLuvsPie 5 hours ago
" "We will never do a metro exodus ever again" - Epic Literally rips a game off steam and puts in their store after buying the whole company" - Also Epic I already had 0 reasons to support epic... and that number is not changing. Reminder that Tim "Swiney" himself said 88/12 is not sustainable. If it's not sustainable for them with a platform with almost no features, then imagine how impossible it would be for steam. Those servers aren't going to pay themselves."

VigilantViking 4 hours ago
"Does this mean I'll lose my beloved Linux support for rocket league? Absolutely! Thanks Tim!"

Rocket League Review Bombed After Epic Buys Developer
Laymen Gaming
Published on May 1, 2019
EPIC GAMES BAD VOLUME 28 - Rocket League Edition


Pinned by Laymen Gaming
Hand Of C'thulhu 1 hour ago (edited)
"Apparently there is an update: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-05-01-epic-acquires-psyonix-will-remove-rocket-league-from-sale-on-steam-later-this-year UPDATE: Epic has offered an update on the confusingly worded statement issued to press earlier today regarding Rocket League's future status on Steam, now insisting that it has "not announced plans to stop selling the game there". Doesn't mean they won't announce the exclusive later though."

XenoAlbedo 44 minutes ago
"I'm almost certain they will. If they weren't going to stop selling on Steam, it would be as easy as just immediately saying it. All the worry and most of the backlash would stop right then and there. The fact they're being vague tells me they're trying to delay the even more massive backlash they'll get when they confirm that they will indeed stop selling it."

NewSoulSam 37 minutes ago
"What an insulting statement. Of course they haven't announced they're pulling the game. We're just all not stupid."

Johto 28 minutes ago
"Sounds to me like damage control because this is a colossal PR nightmare. People are already hating on Epic, this will only fan the flames more."

walentaz 14 minutes ago
"ofc they will remove it, they won't allow first party game (as of now) to be on main competitor. One must be completely delusional if they think they'll allow it on steam."

The Aussie Ninja 6 minutes ago
"I'm calling BS on that wording. That's a "no, no, keep buying the game for now!" Not a "no, you will still be able to buy it on Steam""

Epic's already getting called out for poor Fortnight eSports handling, and I doubt it's going to get better for Rocket League with the split up of the gamers across Steam / Epic - I doubt crossplay is going to be a big priority for Steam what with Epic's behavior. Steam players will have some advantages, which Epic players won't get, and visa versa. It's going to be an even bigger mess, and like the $100M wasted on Fortnight Esports, the cash infusion to RL will evaporate with no benefits to the PC gamer.

Epic Games has F@&!ed Up Fortnite Esports Beyond Repair
theScore esports
Published on Apr 26, 2019
Epic Games has f@&!ed up Fortnite esports beyond repair. Over the last few months it's become clear that Epic doesn't really have any idea what they're doing in the esports space with Fornite. Or at the very least, that they don't care.


Epic Buys Psyonix, Rocket League May Be Removed From Steam
Jim Sterling
Published on May 2, 2019
It seems all but confirmed that Rocket League is going to be removed from Steam to become an Epic Store exclusive. Epic has danced around the issue and is trying to make previously clear statements vague, but either way, Epic now owns Psyonix. With the acquisition of the Rocket League studio, Epic is making it quite clear that it ain't here to play. It is looking to own PC gaming and be THE place for digital distribution. Like it or not, Epic is here to fight and win in the most brutal fashion.

 

This rocket league non-sense is actually good. It's one more nail in epic's coffin so surely it won't be long now until it all comes down... hopefully.

 

If you like Metro, but don't want buy it from Epic for whatever reason, good news: you can now buy Metro Exodus from Humble, and Epic won't take a cut.

Epic, Humble Store partner for game sales, including exclusives
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-exclusives-borderlands-3-and-metro-exodus-are-now-on-the-humble-store/

 

That only gets rid of part of the problem, the smaller part, the worse part that we can't solve is needing Epic Store to install, update, and run the game for years of ownership.

Better to wait for the Epic Store exclusive to expire and buy on Steam, or Gog, or whatever other vendors are trustworthy.

 

Maaan, these two posts above were a real roller-coaster for me. Saw the "Metro on Humble store" post, I got instantly excited while opening humblebundle site and then I scrolled down a bit and reality hit me that I'd still need epic software to install.

Still a hard pass but thanks for the 7 seconds of joy

 

Well I guess anyone that likes Linux can go **** their hats now....at least in terms of gaming.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

This is the real problem with Epic, the secondary ramifications of their interference in the PC gaming community.

Epic buys Easy Anti-Cheat and cancels Linux development and support.

Epic not supporting Linux is idiotic, but to then push off that lunacy onto purchased companies and to stop their Linux development will ripple throughout the gaming community.

Epic keeps finding new ways for people to stop supporting them and their endeavors - except for money - developers and potential acquisitions are happy to take their money, so far, until these kind of ramifications begin to be known.

I hope the time comes that potential acquisitions of Epic refuse the money and refuse Epic's interference over their operations - these targets need to take more time to think things through before taking the money.

 

Lol...a game store boycott

 

Can you boycott them if you never shipped there? Or have no intention of doing so?

Also to answer to @hmscott apparently some companies have told them pass.

Like factorio and rise of industry.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

There are comments coming from developers that haven't been approached by Epic to tell Epic they aren't interested - so don't even try.

Why pre-broadcast their stance on Epic?, because developers and publishers that are approached and turn down Epic probably can't really say anything, it buys them nothing to tell us they turned down Epic's offer(s) and takes time away from their business to deal with the fallout.

There are too many known negatives about Epic and doing exclusive content deals now that are well known to developers / publishers and they can't get away with saying "hey, how were we supposed to know?".

Epic has taken a scorched earth approach to stealing business from other stores, focusing on Steam because it's the largest most well established - with expensive infrastructure that took years to fund and build. Steam are an easy target having scouted out all the rough patches along the way.

And, the way the Chinese do this is to undercut the pricing until they take away market share. This isn't an Epic strategy, this is a Chinese strategy. Tencent's control over Epic's direction is progressing nicely.

Epic is making all new mistakes as a shield for the Chinese way of doing business, and these are the kind of mistakes done where nothing good comes from their approach - discounts is the closet thing Epic have followed through on, but even that is meaningless, prices are just as high as anywhere else - oh, yeah, the games aren't available anywhere else.

Riot Games' walk out today and how it relates to Epic
submitted 23 hours ago by Archlicht
https://www.reddit.com/r/****epic/comments/blyj9i/riot_games_walk_out_today_and_how_it_relates_to/
(edit the link to replace the censored word, even links attached to non-censored words get censored...)

"So if you hadn't heard, there was a large walk out at Riot Games today in protest of forced arbitration clauses in employees' contracts.

Seemingly unrelated to Epic, until you realize that Riot is owned by Tencent, the same company that currently owns 40% of Epic Games and is very likely to own a majority stake soon.

Which means that all those publishers and developers selling out to Epic are currently witnessing the future of their working conditions. Forced overtime, harassment in various forms being permitted, forced arbitration, just overall very sweatshop-like.

This is also how Epic manages Fortnite's development already.

Hopefully those exclusivity payouts are worth fast employee burnout and high turnover rates to these publishers/developers. Otherwise they might want to reconsider handing the keys to the entire operation over to Sweeney."

"In February 2011, Tencent paid $400 million for a 93 percent stake in Riot Games. Tencent bought the remaining 7 percent in December 16, 2015; the price was not disclosed."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_Games

Again, there are thousands of such situations where companies get a small investment by the Chinese, then the IP is evaluated, and if they can get what they want without buying them out they will, otherwise the buyout continues until the Chinese own the IP and oust the founders.

Tencent / Epic advertises that Tencent owns 40%, but in actuality Tencent bought 48.4% of the available outstanding shares, the most they could purchase without an outright purchase of the whole company.
https://www.polygon.com/2013/3/21/4131702/tencents-epic-games-stock-acquisition

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=EMPLOYEES+OF+RIOT+GAMES+TO+WALKOUT+IN+PROTEST+ON+MONDAY

Boycotting a business is just a name for not doing business with them, for whatever reason, and in the case of Epic it's a long term reason that I don't think can be fixed without Epic buying out Tencent's interest.

 

Yeah...epic should be for the gamers by the gamers ..and take a more ambiguous approach...if they did that I would have no problem...ea is a good example where I dont mind using steam and ea origin side by side...and as for ambiguous look at uplay

 

Even EA has more features than epic. Lol even the one where I can load the important part of my games and download the rest in the background as I play.

Most of my animosity towards EA comes from their bad way of building games.if they went back to making decent games I would be swayed.

Epic....well they kinda lost at every turn and are making things worse not just in their own ecosystem but every other one around it.

Sent from my LM-Q710.FGN using Tapatalk

 

Devs Who Refuse To Consider Epic Exclusivity Offers
YongYea
Published on May 8, 2019
SOURCE: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/com...


Jack W 10 hours ago
"Oh wow, the exclusivity deals only benefit the higher ups??? Color me surprised"

Paul M 12 hours ago (edited)
"Developer: "it's really the higher ups at the company that benefit from these exclusivity deals." Randy Pitchford: *checks $12 million already in bank account with avaricious grin. "Borderlands 3 will also be epic store exclusive, to benefit the players somehow""

Brett Yacyshen 9 hours ago
"Wait, independent developers are denying Epic's scummy deal and turning down potential hundreds of thousand or even millions of dollars because they know what the players want and respect it?

Epic: "Hur Dur, we no understand?""

A Happy Iguana 10 hours ago
"Once again Indie devs are better than AAA devs."

Anton Shields 12 hours ago
"This is a great video because it allows us to support people who actually care about the consumer."

Referenced in the video are threads and corrections and further continuations - what happens when a developer makes a public statement against Epic's policies and how they aren't interested in entering into an Epic deal.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/671440/discussions/0/1651043320657573992/?ctp=1

dynastystar May 4 @ 3:09pm
"Thanks for declining epic! ( read developer reply for a clarification) third-party paid exclusivity deals are a cancer on the gaming industry, and I just caught wind of the fact that the developers of this game declined Epic when they were approached for an exclusivity deal. Game looks fun too so I will consider picking it up when I can."

Alex, Master Penguin [developer] May 5 @ 1:04am
"Ok, to kill this topic because it kept me battling legal since last night, this is the only thing I'll say, and I really hope it's acceptable as a closure for the thread:

Again, thanks for all the kind words about the game and my stance as a developer. However, I want to clarify my comments as they have been taken out of context and I don’t want to come across as in-genuine.

My personal stance on the matter is that Epic’s model of exclusivity, and the politics that surround it, is something that doesn’t appeal me. I was never actually contacted by anyone at Epic and I was speaking in a wider context about deals that are offered to developers and not a contractual agreement that was offered to me personally. You can see this if you read the whole conversation (that admittedly spans hours), and not just the two sentences taken out of context.

To be clear: I was talking of the deals (opportunities) they tend to provide, not a possible collaboration proposal they offered. I can see how this can be misinterpreted, and I infinitely apologise for the confusion; it was never my intention to mislead anybody.

In short, Rise of Industry is available on multiple platforms as that is what a personally believe is the right way forward as an indie developer."

Ardorphes Merimadia May 5 @ 1:27am
"Thanks for being clear with people and even if they didn't propose and offer the fact you wouldn't take it means a lot to gamers in general.

This isn't my kind of game but honestly man i respect you for keeping your wits about you and deciding if it did come to that, that you would respect the customers "

Alex, Master Penguin [developer] May 5 @ 1:32am
"Infinite thanks for your understanding. I was afraid it would turn this against me. I am so happy you guys are here. Honestly, I'm scared ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ if this issue gets even more exposure. People love drama "

 

Outer Wilds becomes another Epic Games Store PC exclusive and some backers are not happy
"I would [have] preferred them asking for more money rather th[a]n timed exclusivity."
Vikki Blake, 12 May 2019
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...e-pc-exclusive-and-some-backers-are-not-happy

"..."I understand the publisher made this deal and not the dev team, and I understand money is a driving force behind the decision," said one unhappy backer on reddit. "However, I feel this is unethical for crowdfunding campaigns. I didn't want to support the game so I could play it months after release on the platform the campaign originally promoted. If I was told my contribution meant I could play the game "eventually", I would not have pledged."

"I really do not want to refund. Honestly, I would of (sic) preferred them asking for more money, rather then (sic) timed exclusivity," added another. "Which, by the way, they didn't even specify how long it would be either. I can't believe I have to wait another six months or year. To me, this feels like a real kick in the teeth to backers. I was promised a steam key when I backed the game and will have to wait even longer to get what I was promised during the campaign."

As others have said, however, "we're planning to" doesn't automatically translate to "we are going to", and "EGS barely existed if not was inexistant (sic) at the time, no wonder plans can change. Game dev is expensive, is (sic) that is what they needed to get enough money to pay their devs and release the game, no problem here."

We've reached out to both Epic and Mobius for comment and will update as and when we hear back."

These Epic failures continue to remind developers they need to amend their publisher agreements to get first right of refusal for deals publishers make - not only to stop these egregious insults to their fans and gamers, but to make sure they benefit from the deals themselves, outside of the publishers taking advantage of the contract for their own greedy needs.

At least work into the stipulations that the publisher must fulfill delivery to the promised outlets - the ones that funded and supported the development through $ and pre-release positioning in their ecosystems.

Good people don't think of these things, we assume that honor is transferred through our contracts through others, but this doesn't always happen so it needs to be spelled out and contractually bound. Even the simplest things need to be ELI5 in contracts and agreements where someone else is acting on your behalf.

Another good game gets delayed until 2020.

Comments

josephbrown 13 hours ago
"Whilst I'm all for competition because it can generate a healthy, fair environment for all involved, Epic bulldozing their way into the market and attempting to aggressively strong arm customers into buying games via their client does not, contrary to belief, create said healthy, fair environment.

Quite the opposite, just as we see here. Backers are right to be upset that they now have to wait several months or more to receive a game (a game they put money into) via a platform of their choice. Competition creates choice and this is not what is happening here. What is happening is Epic and the publishers they snare are holding PC gamers to ransom. "Buy with us or go without for up to a year".

I also find it particularly bewildering that a company with millions of dollars at their disposal, and who have had plenty of time to study the likes of Steam and GoG and as such see what customers expect from a store front, had the temerity to release such a half-assed client as the Epic Store."

ambershee 13 hours ago
" @josephbrown I feel the bigger problem is that with crowdfunded games like these, customers have *already* put down their money for the product - only to be told it isn't going to be sold to them how they expected. Linux and Mac gamers are left particularly short as this implies they won't get a version at all until it hits Steam."

josephbrown 12 hours ago
"Epic absolutely have the right, I don't dispute that, but as someone who also games on PC (as well as consoles) I have the absolute right not to play ball. Epic, along with any developer/publisher that goes down this route, can, quite frankly, get lost from hereon in. Won't make a difference in the bigger picture, true, but on a personal level I'm content in the knowledge that I don't or ever will support Epic's aggressive strong arming and that developers won't see a penny from me."

melnificent9 hours ago
" @stefanheisenberg As has been established it's the PUBLISHERS getting the higher cut with none passed to the actual Devs."

djarcas 6 hours ago
" @melnificent Only by devs who haven't got a clue how to negotiate a contract. Ditto any dev who says "Oh. this is a publisher decision". Either they are incompetent, or liars..."

Epic Store Timed Exclusive Confirmed
Submitted 2 days ago * by daear
https://www.reddit.com/r/outerwilds/comments/bn4jfe/epic_store_timed_exclusive_confirmed/

"As of update #72 from the Outer Wilds team, the game will be a timed exclusive for Xbox One and PC via Epic Games store ( source). Other platforms will be "coming later", and the team promises their goal is to "bring the game to your preferred platform as quickly as possible".

I have requested a refund for my pledge directly from Fig. I don't know if they will grant it, seeing as how it was made in 2015. You can do the same by filling out the form: Fig.co pledge request refund.

I understand the publisher made this deal and not the dev team, and I understand money is a driving force behind the decision. However, I feel this is unethical for crowdfunding campaigns.

I didn't want to support the game so I could play it months after release on the platform the campaign originally promoted. If I was told my contribution meant I could play the game "eventually", I would not have pledged.

I do not wish to support the Epic Store at this time (it's feature incomplete, it's a potential privacy risk), and unfortunately, this means I can't support the Outer Wilds team, as much as I believe in the project and am excited to see how far it has come."

StickiStickman 20 points 2 days ago
"Honestly, this just kinda ruined the game for me. Have people crowdfund your game and then make it an timed exclusive, what a dick move.

What's even worse is all the radio silence for MONTHS. People were already speculating too ..."

For those that keep making apologies and excuse for Epic's behavior, Epic will get around to you soon enough, eventually Epic will screw over something you were hoping to get how you wanted to get it, and then you'll join the growing /r/****epic crowd. (Page Not Found - you have to replace the **** 4 letters in the URL yourself, the auto-censor mucks with "bad" words in the URL now too).

This is a new low, even for Epic
submitted 12 hours ago by hairy-beary - 105 comments

Create4Life 309 points 11 hours ago*
"If I would have pledged for this game I would be fuming right now.

Pledging money to a crowdfunding and being one of the last people that get to play the game because they decided to release their game on a storefront that does not support one of the platforms they allegedly try to support? No thanks. Supporting anti consumer practices? No, "EPIC" you."

Verzik_Vitur 5 points 4 days ago
"I love that there's a forum just for "EPIC" talking Epic. I thought it was just some dumb "hashtag" people were sharing until I clicked on a link to here. "EPIC" Epic, and "EPIC" Tim Swiney!"

The Outer Wilds Developer deleted my Epic Games Store prediction Thread a month ago.
submitted 12 hours ago * by OnkelJupp - 244 comments
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/bnqnme/the_outer_wilds_developer_deleted_my_epic_games/

"There are always some signs if a game comes out exclusively on the Epic Games Store. It usually begins with the developers not doing any community updates anymore and changing the Release Date to TBD. The same thing happened with The Outer Wilds a few weeks ago and since the Epic Games Store was launched in December there was also an Outer Wilds Store Page up.

So I made a thread in the Steam Community Hub in March with the title: “The Outer Worlds will probably be an Epic Games Store exclusive”. After only a few comments from people who didn’t really believe it they deleted the thread without any comments.

There is a chance that more Threads were deleted and everything looks like this was a decision made a while ago.

Here is some proof since you can’t visit a deleted thread:
https://abload.de/img/92f0225e-46b6-4a3e-9iqjs0.jpeg
https://abload.de/img/9c7df79e-f0bf-4bdf-b38k91.jpeg
https://abload.de/img/9c6a8314-756b-4df7-8ytj5r.jpeg

Edit: The same signs were also shown right before Control and The Outer Worlds were announced as Epic Exclusive. Currently Rune is a pretty good Epic Exclusive contender since they don't do community updates on Steam anymore and they announced to skip Early Acces because they got a lot of money (Steam still shows it as Early Access Game)."

 

This is a very creative way to do something under-handed, not sure what yet - not enough info - but somehow Tencent / CCCP is gonna come out on top.

Tencent shuts down PUBG Mobile in China for patriotic alternative
Tencent failed to win approval from the Chinese authorities to monetize the game
By James Vincent May 8, 2019, 6:09am EDT
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/8/18536564/pubg-mobile-china-tencent-dropped-monetization

PUBG Mobile shut down in China in favor of blood-free clone
Submitted 5 days ago by SolitaryEgg
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/co...bile_shut_down_in_china_in_favor_of/?sort=new

huthuthike2 12 points 5 days ago*
"... Tencent has purchased the rights to be the sole reseller/service provider of PUBG in China. The agreement allows Tencent to make localized customizations which they built two versions.

Both versions bear the English name PUBG but their Chinese names are different. They are officially "beta testing" both for a year or so. During this period you can play but can not buy skins with real money.

The news is about bringing "beta testing" phase to an end, and make it commercially available. Apparently the final version was the one that is further customized with micro payment enabled. I don't know how much of the writings in the OP article was speculation, and how much is confirmed, since the release version is not yet available.

Look, if you want to blame Tencent, at least get your facts right:

"Following the Chinese publication deal for the Windows version, Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation additionally announced that they were planning on releasing two mobile versions based on the game in the country.[73][74] The first, PUBG: Exhilarating Battlefield, is an abridged version of the original game, and was developed by Lightspeed & Quantum Studio, an internal division of Tencent Games.[75] The second, PUBG: Army Attack, includes more arcade-style elements, including action taking place on warships, and was developed by Tencent's Timi Studio."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayerUnknown's_Battlegrounds

PUBG mobile was developed by Tencent, by the way. Only one version of the mobile games is available outside of China."

msixtwofiveGalaxy S8+ 0 points 5 days ago
"Tencent has purchased the rights to be the sole reseller/service

makes 15-35% on transactions

magically supports clone

clone pays 50-75% per transaction

Tell me which you'd pick"

satouru 38 points 5 days ago
"Exactly. This is standard Chinese national business strategy:

• Have a company make an exact clone of something, but with some 'non-ethical' stuff removed.
• Have the government ban the foreign product because their product actually has this non-ethical stuff.
• Have their huge market use their local product instead of the foreign one - make a lot of profits.

They've been doing that for almost 10 years, and it's been working fantastically for them. They nuke any successful foreign product and make all those sweet profits flow towards a company close to the government."

 

Epic Games Store Very quietly launches in China,
Arch Warhammer
Published on May 15, 2019
Epic Yesterday “ The way our competitors (Steam) operate overseas in China is actually illegal”
Epic Today “Welcome to our new unsanctioned games store in china!”


Epic SNAKES Crowdfunded Game & Makes Exclusive Removes Steam & Linux
TheQuartering
Published on May 14, 2019
Look I am over the entire conversation with epic games store and it's exclusives. Seriously, I don't even care any more but open wilds a crowd funded game just totally hosed their backers and removed steam and linux support once they go epic cash.


click trEsni 1 day ago
"I'm not buying anything from the guys that infected the industry with fartwipe."

ForeverLaxx 1 day ago
"Steam has had long enough to strike back. They've done nothing." Why should Steam actually do anything? Epic keeps shooting themselves in the foot regarding customer good-will and a refusal to respect the consumer. Why does Steam have to step in when the enemy is so effective at destroying themselves?"

AdamantMovies 1 day ago
"Honestly, Steam really does not need to do anything. They can sit back, relax and laugh their ass off at Epic committing suicide."

 

A nice list of games coming out in 2020...

A compiled list of all titles exclusive to the EPIC store
submitted 3 days ago * by Last_Snowbender
https://www.reddit.com/r/****epic/comments/bojuzt/a_compiled_list_of_all_titles_exclusive_to_the/
[note the censor system edits out the bad word in the subreddit name, so you'll need to put it back in for the URL to work]

"Hey guys,

I've compiled a list of all games exclusive to the epic game store so you know what games to avoid. I've also added a reason if I could find one (Outer Worlds being exclusive is not the fault of Obsidian, for example). Doesn't mean you should buy it if there is a reason, but just an explanation.

I think I got most of it, if not everything. If I missed something, let me know and I'll add it.

Title Duration Reason Relevant sources"

The list is likely to be updated over time in the article, so please go there for the current version...

Publishers Pull Their Games From Epic's Store During Its Big Sale
Nathan Grayson, Yesterday 8:30pm
https://kotaku.com/publishers-pull-their-games-from-epics-store-during-its-1834828248

"Earlier today, Epic once again took a page from Steam’s book and announced a “mega sale” that includes both percentage discounts and an additional $10 off every game priced $14.99 or higher on the Epic Games Store. It seemed to be smooth sailing for the sale, but then two major games suddenly vanished from the store.

Spoiler: Click for details...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, the upcoming action RPG, disappeared first, and nobody was quite sure what to make of it. It was briefly available for a discounted price, but then suddenly, it was gone. Trying to access the game’s store page currently returns a 404 error. An Epic representative told Kotaku that Vampire: The Masquerade publisher Paradox chose at the last second—or after the last second, technically—to not participate in the sale.

“If a developer or publisher chooses to not participate in our sales, we will honor that decision,” the Epic rep said in an email. “Paradox Interactive has chosen to not participate in the Epic Mega Sale and the game has been temporarily removed from sale. If you’ve purchased Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 during the period when the discount did apply at the time of check out, Epic will honor that price.”

Shortly after Vampire exploded into a figurative cloud of bats, Epic director of publishing strategy Sergey Galyonkin made a similar comment on Russian siteDTF, which the Epic representative confirmed was accurate. A little later, Galyonkin made another comment on the same site, saying that he initially thought Paradox was aware of how the sale would affect its games, but “after a little investigation, it turned out that I was wrong.”

Paradox would not go into specifics about why the removal happened when it did, but a representative pointed me to a thread that included Galyonkin’s comments. The publisher also provided Kotaku with a statement.

“We are in discussion with Epic regarding the temporary removal of Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from the Epic Game Store,” read the statement. “The game will return to the store soon! Any purchases made while the game was discounted during the Epic Mega Sale will be honored and no Masquerade violations will be assessed.”

The other game that was pulled was space station survival sim Oxygen Not Included, the Epic Games Store page for which also gives visitors a 404 error right now. Developer and publisher Klei Entertainment has yet to comment on why this happened. Kotaku reached out to Klei for more information, but it has not yet responded.

pointed to regional pricing differences that would’ve led to impractically large discounts on an unreleased game in some territories, as well.

Epic’s bouncing baby store has had other first-time mega-sale-related hiccups, as well. Hades, the early access roguelite from the makers of Bastion and Pyre, was briefly priced incorrectly at $6.99, and developer Supergiant corrected it with a confusing increase not only to the game’s sale price (which is now $14.99), but also its base price, which was $19.99 but is now $24.99.

“We apologize for any confusion this caused and hope customers who got the deal enjoy the game,” Supergiant said on Twitter. “The corrected sale price is still a 25% discount off of the original price point.”

The developer also addressed the increased base price, which some users viewed as an attempt to sell the game for a higher amount than a 25 percent discount would otherwise imply.

“We raised the list price based on continued improvements and additions we’ve made so far in Early Access,” Supergiant said. “We think this price point reflects the game’s current value. Customers can get the game at a lower-than-ever price for several weeks.”

This is not at all an uncommon practice with early access games, but it’s rubbed some fans the wrong way in light of a pre-price-increase comment from Supergiant earlier today in which the developer said it would “announce something like that well in advance” when asked about a Hades price increase on Twitter.

[ Updated: 5/16/2019, 9:50 PM ET - Supergiant has brought Hades’ base price back down to $19.99, where it will stay for the duration of the sale. However, it’s no longer offering a 25 percent discount on top of Epic’s discount, meaning that Hades is currently priced at $9.99. “After the sale is over, on June 14, we will be raising the game’s retail price to $24.99,” the developer said in a statement posted in its Discord. “We had intended to raise the retail price of the game soon, but made the decision rashly as part of the sale—we didn’t provide advance notice to our customers, despite previously stating we would do so. That was our mistake, and we sincerely apologize. To all our players, thank you for your patience and understanding around this.”]

It is, to an extent, understandable that the Epic Games Store wouldn’t nail running a store-wide sale on its first try. After all, it took Valve ages to get Steam sales right, and even then, Steam still regularly goes down at the outset of big seasonal dealstravaganzas. But this comes on top of Epic’s barebones feature set, other assorted errors, and unpopular penchant for snapping up exclusives. Watching a company with all the money in the world stumble through the process of launching a store doesn’t inspire much faith in that store’s future prospects, even if the roadmap ahead looks significantly more acceptable than the pothole-ridden road we’re on right now.

Check the website, and the subreddit below for updates:
https://www.reddit.com/r/****epic/comments/bpmvmr/publishers_pull_their_games_from_epics_store/
[note the censor system edits out the bad word in the subreddit name, so you'll need to put it back in for the URL to work]

Droid8Apple 44 points 8 hours ago
"Imagine being Epic.

Sweeney: "Awe, but guys! Steam is having a sale!" ...

Literally everyone except Sweeney: "No!" ...

Sweeney: " I HATE YOU! You can't tell me what to do you're not my dad!"(starts chopping prices without talking to a single dev because ego > formalities)"

Hallitsijan 30 points 8 hours ago
"Putting a pre order game in a sale like this? What has Sweeney been smoking. That's a good way to kill off any future sales of the game."

Spacecowboycarl 14 points 6 hours ago*
"Metro has barely been out three months and it’s on sale for $35.
(Edit) Also you can get Redux for the low price of $5 and sell your soul or go to steam and get it for $7. I feel like epic set the price lower purposely."

unsinnsschmierer 11 points 6 hours ago
"Paradox are selling the preorders themselves at their own store. If Epic is selling it cheaper the people who bought it directly from paradox or from steam will refund it and buy from EGS. It's sick that Epic did this without agreeing the terms with paradox."

 

This thread makes me sad. It's a reminder that I still can't play Metro (properly updated)

FYI, the reddit links at the beginning of the post don't seem to work. Is it just for me?
Edit: nevermind, just noticed the censor thing messes up the links.

 

The blue link is also edited by the autoCensor, so you need to edit the **** out and replace it with the "bad word" for the URL to work, as noted in my post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/****epic/comments/bojuzt/a_compiled_list_of_all_titles_exclusive_to_the/
[note the censor system edits out the bad word in the subreddit name, so you'll need to put it back in for the URL to work]

For now we'll wipe the tears from our eyes, it won't be long, lots of bugs will be fixed, the price will drop - and a Steam sale will drop the price even more - then you'll be ready to join the tight online group of stalwart individuals with the "right stuff" to stand up for what's decent and right in the world, and blow up some Russian Mutants, in 2020.

 

Hmscott that literally took me ten minutes to read, however every second was worth it..you sir are a genius, world needs more of you.