Why paying for third-party exclusivity on an historically open platform
harms gamers, splinters communities, and prioritizes corporate bankrolls
over consumer freedom.
Epic Games Store launched onto the PC scene around December 2018 to
directly compete with the likes of Steam, Origin, UPlay, GOG, and
Battle.Net — Steam being a well-established player in this space
(launching around 2003).
Competition is good, right? Well,
Epic seems to think buying and funding exclusivity deals with developers
is the way to gain traction in the market.
This has led to many developers promising to only release their game on
PC via the Epic platform, and not allowing Steam and others to carry the
game digitally; sometimes with a delay, sometimes "perpetually".
The console world has had the concept of "exclusives" for years (and I
also believe they're not right). But this is now spilling into the PC
realm, which historically hasn't had this sort of attitude — and with
Steam being king as long as it has, Epic is looking to shake things up.
⚠️
Epic's approach is completely anti-consumer, and a huge step backwards.
Epic's platform contains nowhere near the feature set and consumer protections that Steam has.
I hope this site can bring awareness to how scummy Epic's practices are, and encourage you to vote with your money and wallet to send them a strong message.
Section 02
Why are developers choosing Epic Games Store over Steam?
Some developers feel that Steam's revenue split is unfair. Valve, in
2018, changed their revenue share to be 30 percent of all Steam sales
for the first $10M of sales; then from $10M to $50M, the split goes to 25
percent. After $50M, Steam takes 20 percent.
Steam (Valve)30% → 20% Cut
Includes Steamworks API, global CDN, automated matchmaking, forums, workshop modding, Proton Linux runtime, and zero-fee key generation.
✨ Free Key Generation: Devs keep 100% of profit on other stores!
Epic Games Store12% Flat Cut
Very enticing headline revenue split to publishers, paired with upfront lump-sum minimum guarantee exclusivity payments.
🔒 Downside: Strips consumers of storefront freedom on PC.
Epic, on the other hand, has their revenue share at 12% — a very
enticing proposal to developers. However it seems Epic is encouraging
developers who want to be on their store to make them exclusive, either
temporarily or permanently. I have no way of knowing what deals are
being offered here, but publishers/developers are taking Epic up on
their offer, leading to games being locked to the Epic Games Store.
The bottom line is — Epic likes making money. Publishers and developers like
making money. If someone came and offered you a nice amount of cash (or
a special deal on sales in your store) in order to be exclusive, you may
be tempted to take it. But in doing so, don't forget the message you're
sending to consumers:
you don't want your customers being able to play/own your games on
the platform of their choice, and care more about money instead.
I've heard the argument that the Epic Games Store deal really helps
indie developers, and their games wouldn't exist without the exclusivity
bump. This may be true in some degree; however, it doesn't hide the fact
that it's preventing the consumer from choosing which store to
support/purchase from, and is still wrong in my book.
💡
Crucial Update: Someone shared with me that Steam allows developers to generate keys for the store for free (so they can be activated on Steam), allowing developers to sell these keys on other storefronts (like Humble, itch.io, or their own website) and keep 100% of the profit. As far as I know, Epic does not offer any such mechanism. This is a big deal, and a huge help for indie developers.
Section 03
What Steam gets right versus Epic Game Store
This might come off as "Steam fanboy" speaking, but they do so many
things right. Valve Software runs the Steam platform, which freely
provides an API called Steamworks, which developers can use to integrate
features like matchmaking, in-game achievements, microtransactions,
mods, patching/updating, etc. — any platform that would hope to compete
with Steam would want to implement these, right?
Well, Epic
publishes a Trello board with their roadmap, and while I appreciate the transparency, the priority they wish to
complete these features with is frankly laughable. As of May 2020,
"Storefront - Trending" was the next item on their priority list to work
on. Things on the "recently shipped" include Wishlists, reviews and
curated collections — you know, things a store should have before it
launches.
Being a gamer for many many years now, here is a direct comparison of the features that mean the most to players:
📡
In-Home Streaming
Play your games on any TV, laptop, or handheld in your house, streamed seamlessly from your main gaming PC.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
🎮
Remote Play with Friends
Stream and have friends remotely join local co-op and multiplayer sessions, even if they don't own the game.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
👨👩👧👦
Family Accounts / Sharing
Share access to your personal digital game library with family members under unified parental controls.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
🏆
Achievements
A classic badge of honor. Track progression, unlock showcase milestones, and compare stats with friends worldwide.
Steam✓ Full API
Epic⚠️ Slow / Partial
☁️
Universal Cloud Saves
Seamlessly keep your game progress synchronized across desktop rigs, laptops, and portable hardware.
Steam✓ Universal
Epic⚠️ Hit-or-Miss
⭐
User Reviews & Metrics
Authentic purchaser reviews, playtime metrics, anti-review-bombing graphs, and uncensored player feedback.
Steam✓ Comprehensive
Epic⚠️ Curated / Late
🏷️
Price-Adjusted Bundles
"Complete the Set" pricing discounts bundles dynamically if you already own some of the included DLC or base games.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
🎁
Game Gifting
Purchase games directly for friends and family across holiday sales with customized digital delivery messages.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
🛒
Multi-Item Shopping Cart
Purchase multiple games or expansions in a single smooth checkout without credit card fraud flags.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic⚠️ Took 3 Years
📺
TV / Big Picture / Steam Deck
Full 10-foot controller navigation UI tailored for living rooms, handheld gaming, and couch play.
Steam✓ Supported
Epic✕ Missing
🐧
Native Linux / Proton & macOS
Steam revolutionized open PC gaming with native Linux runtimes, Proton compatibility, and active Steam Deck support.
Steam✓ Industry Leader
Epic✕ No Linux Client
🛠️
Community Mod Workshop
One-click mod installations, automated updates, developer tools, and user-generated community guides.
Steam✓ Steam Workshop
Epic✕ Barebones
Guess which of those features above the Epic Games Store supported at launch?
Only one (Cloud Saves) —
and even then, only on very few games, and Tim Sweeney has even
admitted
they "have a bit more work to do before rolling it out more widely".
This is unacceptable for a platform intending to compete with Steam.
Steam also has had a rich history of supporting other operating systems, such
as macOS and Linux. While Epic Games Store does provide a macOS client,
they do not offer a Linux one, and their macOS offerings are pretty
slim — and, adding more confusion — some games that do have macOS
support on Steam do not show macOS support on Epic Games Store.
Section 04
Arguments and Counter-Arguments
This isn't some snap judgement call made by myself — this is something
I've spent quite a bit of time on. I want to present some of the common
things I've heard and my responses to them:
The Argument
"Store XYZ should not have a monopoly on the PC games market!"
The Reality
Steam may be one of the most popular, but it is definitely not
alone nor a monopoly. Companies such as EA and Ubisoft have their
own launchers, and even companies like Rockstar have
gotten into the mix. These companies were still
offering their games for sale digitally across their own
launchers, Steam, and other stores like GOG.com — letting
consumers choose which platform they want to bind their digital
purchase to.
The Argument
"Epic gives away a lot of great games for free. I don't see other stores doing that."
The Reality
Epic isn't the only store that has ever done this. You can feel
free to take advantage of the fact that Epic is willing to do
this; it doesn't make up for anything else, though, in my opinion.
It just means they have deeper pocketbooks and are
willing to take the hit to win in the popularity contest (and
get people installing their store).
The Argument
"Just use what you want to use, why does this bother you so much?"
The Reality
I would think you'd have a pretty good idea after reading this
site — however let me boil it down to the main issue that bothers
me: Epic is choosing to not compete with other stores by building
something better — they're spending money to buy exclusivity instead.
The Argument
"Steam has exclusives too — you don't see Counter-Strike: GO on other stores, for example."
The Reality
This is the difference between a 1st party and 3rd party game.
Valve owns Steam and made games such as Counter-Strike — which
run on Steamworks, requiring Steam for matchmaking, anti-cheat, and inventory.
Epic has no equivalent featureset — perhaps if it did, Valve would want to implement them so they can
sell on their store too.
Section 05
How can we fight back?
I'll be honest — there's no silver bullet here. Epic has shown
they do not care about making exclusivity deals (profits!) — so letting
them know directly is most likely going to change nothing, but worth a
shot.
01
Vote With Your Wallet
Do not purchase timed exclusives on EGS. Wait for their Steam/GOG release or play other great backlog titles.
02
Speak Up Respectfully
Politely let publishers and indie developers know on social media why you are holding off purchasing their game.
03
Send Direct Feedback
Epic has a "Contact Us" form linked at their help portal. Some gamers have gone as far as requesting account deletions.
04
Educate the Community
Share this website with fellow gamers and explain why artificial storefront gating damages PC gaming's open ecosystem.
Of course, for all the above methods — feel free to link to this site to
help them and others understand why gamers won't tolerate these
anti-consumer practices. Let's educate folks on why this just plain
sucks.
There's an excellent comprehensive community guide on the variety of reasons Epic does not deserve your hard-earned dollar, including extensive track records and exclusive lists: