Epic First Run, the Epic Games program that seeks exclusivity from developers
The news of the new program offered by Epic Games to developers called “Epic First Run”, has been playing a lot on the internet, since it is something that divides opinions, because in the first instance It seems like it is an excellent program for developers of games, which generally have to deal with commissions within the app stores.
A fairly well-known case was precisely that of Epic Games vs. Apple in 2020, in which, in order not to lengthen the subject, I basically tried that Apple and Google withdrew Fortnite from their respective application stores because Epic Games had introduced a system of own payment with which he claimed that the user saved the commission of the application stores.
This case lasted several months in the courts, since everyone defended their interests (Apple and Epic Games), in addition to accusing Apple of monopoly.
Leaving aside the issue of the Apple vs. Epic Games lawsuit and returning to the reason for the article, as I mentioned at first instance the new program known as Epic First Run, at first glance it seems to be quite good for developers and it is (to a certain extent), since the program gives 100% income in exchange for exclusivity.
In other words, its developers will get 100% of the profits generated by their creations, for six months, in exchange for not releasing their game in other stores, for example Steam.
The description of Epic First Run basically consists of allowing participating developers to keep all profits from new titles that are released after October 16 of this year:
At the end of this period, the revenue split will return to the usual split, with 88% of revenue going to the developer and 12% to Epic. In return, companies participating in the program will not be able to sell their games on competing stores, including Valve's Steam Store, during the six-month period. A game will also not be eligible for the program if it has already been offered on another third-party digital store.
So far so good, since it seems like honey on flakes, but it is not like that since in the first instance This movement makes many think that Epic Games is looking for a monopoly by only asking for exclusivity for your platform.
That leads to what stores such as Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Uplay, among others, are affected in the long run, since they will no longer be able to offer a way to compete in a "certain way" either in launches, price, services, promotions, etc., since Epic Games will be the only store with exclusivity.
this i It reminds a little of the monopoly that Internet Explorer had for so many years, Even other browsers (Firefox, Opera and later Chrome) began to gain popularity, which meant the imminent death of Internet Explorer.
I take the example of browsers because there is no better way to explain what this Epic Games program can do in the unlikely event that developers choose to give their games exclusivity.
Well, if we see it this way, those of us who are Linux users would be condemned to have to find a way to run the Epic Games client on our system, say wine, CrossOver, Lutris, etc.
Something that does not compare to a large extent to having native titles or that the same application store can offer, as is the case of Steam, which in the first instance offers:
- A native client for Linux
- Offers native titles for Linux
- It also offers multiplatform titles
- It has the "Proton" project with which it ensures that a part of its catalog of games that in theory could only work on Mac or Windows can be executed on Linux.
Finally, I can say that as such the idea of giving game developers a higher profit margin is not bad, quite the contrary, but all the consequences that this may generate in the long run, without a doubt, Linux users are the ones who are going to suffer.
Finally, and as an additional comment that I would like to add, most of the games do not usually collect a large part of their profits during the first months, but the real profits are perceived much later.
If you are interested in knowing more about it About the Epic Games program, you can check the details In the following link.