Since launching the Epic Game Store back in 2018, Epic Games have announced a number of incentives to attract developers to their platform. This includes offering royalty free usage of Unreal Engine and a very developer friendly 88/12 revenue sharing model. Today they have announced an even better developer split… 100/0! This is part of the Epic First Run program, a 6 month exclusivity deal where the developers get 100% of revenue.
Details from the announcement:
Today, we’re introducing the Epic First Run program: an opt-in exclusivity program for third-party developers on the Epic Games Store. The new Epic First Run program gives participants the opportunity to boost their net revenue from user spending on eligible products from 88% to 100% in their first six months on the Epic Games Store. After their six-month run, participants will continue to benefit from Epic’s 88%/12% revenue split.
The Epic Games Store is home to a huge, rapidly growing global audience with over 230 million players and 68 million monthly active users. Participating products in the Epic First Run program will be presented to those users on-store with new exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections. In addition, products will be featured in relevant store campaigns including sales, events, and editorial as applicable. Once a product joins the program, it will benefit from continued exposure throughout its Epic First Run.
One of the more interesting aspects of this program is that although you are not able to launch your game on Steam or GOG, if the application store offers key redemptions, such as the Humble Store or Green Man Gaming, or if you launch your own store, you can sell your game there.
Can I still release a product on my first-party store or website?
Yes. Products in the Epic First Run program can also be released simultaneously on publishers’ and developers’ own stores or launchers with direct sales, sale of an Epic digital redemption code, or integration with our keyless redemption program. Please note, keyless distribution will require technical work to implement for developer or publisher’s launcher and/or store.
Developers and publishers can also use the Epic Games Store’s keyless redemption program to sell on other stores including Green Man Gaming, Humble Store and several others. After the six-month exclusivity period ends, developers are welcome to release their products on other third-party stores, while continuing to benefit from Epic’s 88%12% revenue share.
Key Links
You can learn more about the Epic First Run program in the video below.