Epic Games grows its offerings, officially a multi-platform publisher - The UpStream

Epic Games grows its offerings, officially a multi-platform publisher

posted Saturday Mar 28, 2020 by Scott Ertz

Epic Games grows its offerings, officially a multi-platform publisher

Epic Games has made it clear that they want to grow to be a true competitor for the big boys. While the company has long produced the popular Unreal Engine, it wasn't until Fortnite that the brand became a household name. They have used that position, and the unreal income from the game, to grow their offerings. The Epic Games Store, launched just over a year ago, was the company's first major push. But, there is one aspect of the industry the company has been lacking: publishing.

That changed this week, as Epic Games officially announced Epic Games Publishing. But, announcing a new division is very different from being able to attract developers to publish through the company. The announcement, however, came along with a list of developers who have already signed on, and the list is not made up of unknown studios. The three most notable studios to sign on already are Remedy Entertainment, best known for Max Payne, Playdead, best known for the incredibly popular Limbo and follow-up Inside, and genDESIGN, best known for the Sony exclusive title Shadow of the Collosus.

Why would these well-renowned studios decide to change the way they've been doing business and sign on with Epic as their publisher? It has everything to do with the new division's publishing contract. The most attractive aspect of the contract is that the studios will retain 100% ownership of their intellectual property. This has become more common in recent years, but it wasn't long ago that a publisher got full or partial rights to the studio's game franchise.

In addition, the financial benefits are huge. A studio that signs on with Epic Games Publishing could get full funding of their title, though not guaranteed, and, following a break-even point, will receive at least half of all future profits. That is a great deal for small and large developers alike. There is no word on what these new contracts might produce, but with studios like these, we can be almost certain the games will be Epic.

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