6 Amazing Reasons To Launch a Game on Epic Games

by Game Marketing Genie, on 12-Jul-2022 13:04:50

Launching a game on the right platform can make a massive difference. While Steam has been the most popular PC game store for a long time, an equally effective competitor is here — Epic Games. The Epic Games Store offers a wide selection of games, and many users go there when looking for a new game to play.

epic games

Figure 1: Epic Games homepage. Source: Epic Games

Epic Games is widely known for creating the world-famous Fortnite. The platform also offers various features for developers to build and sell their upcoming games. 

Launching a game on Epic has many benefits, and we're listing the top six in this blog. So, give this blog a read before you learn how to publish on Epic Games Store!

1. Razor-sharp targeting 

A game's success relies on how well the developers can compel their target audience to download the game. Here are three ways Epic Games allows you to reach and entice your ideal players.

Epic has 100+ million players

epic games statistics

Figure 2: Epic Games Store user statistics from 2019 to 2021. Source: Statista

Epic Games has a vast user base. The platform has over a whopping 194 million total users and 62 million monthly active users on PC! In other words, launching your game here will give it colossal exposure. 

Additionally, more than 30 million users access the Epic Games Store daily. One reason is that the store has over 471 exciting titles players can choose from. These players clocked up to 5.7 billion hours of playtime in 2022 and have already spent $700 million here this year (source: Backlinko).

Third-party games sales

third-party games sales

Figure 3: Annual spending on third-party Epic games. Source: Statista

A wide range of Epic users invest in third-party games. So, you shouldn't think twice about your game's success on the EG Store. Epic revealed that players spent approximately $300 million on third-party games in 2021, which is 36% of all sales.

A significant increase in peak concurrent users

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Figure 4: Epic Games peak concurrent users from 2019 to 2021. Source: Statista

Epic Games had around 13 million concurrent PC users in 2021 and about 7 million in 2019. This data indicates that the user base of Epic Games is increasing, which is only a benefit for you!

2. 88/12 revenue split


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Figure 5: Epic Games follows an 88/12 revenue model. Source: Xsolla 

Another appealing reason to use Epic Games is its profitable revenue model. Most digital game stores rely on a 70/30 model. This means 30% of the revenue goes to the platform used to launch the game, whereas 70% goes to the developers. 

Warner Bros. developed this revenue model to distribute films on VHS. To date, popular platforms like Steam and GOG work on this model. Apple and Google also use it for games launched on their app stores. 

Steam takes 30% for all games with less than $10 million in sales. It reduces this to 25% and 20% when the games make over $10 million and $50 million in sales, respectively. A survey from Business Wire revealed that over 97% of developers consider this revenue split unfair.

Epic Games has turned the tables with the revolutionary 88/12 revenue model. Developers launching on Epic get to keep 88% of their revenue, and Epic Games only takes 12% — this is a steal! Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, revealed that the 12% covers operating costs and ensures the Store is profitable.

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Figure 6: Tim Sweeney explains why Epic Games chose the 88/12 revenue split. Source: Tim Sweeney

3. Support-a-creator program

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Figure 7: Creator's dashboard. Source: Epic Games

 

Epic Games also has its Support-A-Creator program. Many professional content creators use it to promote Fortnite and other games on Epic. For every successful promotion and sale, creators earn a share of revenue pre-decided by the game's developer. This program streamlines influencer marketing for many developers, giving them access to thousands of influencers available. The program currently boasts 10,000 content creators, with millions of video-game-playing fans.

Without a doubt, marketing a game to the right target audience is a challenge, especially for new developers — and Epic understands this. This is where influencer marketing jumps in! Gaming influencers partner with top brands to spread the word about their upcoming games. They compel their audience to download the game and purchase in-game assets. In exchange, they receive monetary benefits from Epic. 

That said, finding the best-fit influencer is often tricky. But with Atisfyreach, this issue is sorted! Atisfyreach is an AI-based influencer marketing platform that bridges the gap between brands and influencers. The platform connects you with the right influencers for your game's promotion. This technique can catapult your game towards success!

4. Control over your listing

Epic Games also gives developers creative freedom for their game's listing. One of the best things is that you can create a "Coming Soon" page for your game as soon as you announce it. This creates hype around your game even before its launch. Additionally, Epic allows you to add up to 20 images and videos on your product's page. This gives the audience a sneak peek into your game's art, play style, dialogue, and more! You can add a complete game description in the About section — there are no character limitations! If you're launching an early access game, Epic even allows you to add a FAQ page.

Another helpful feature is Epic's discounting strategy to maximize sales and reach new customers. You can join event sales Epic Games hosts and launch custom sales. All sales are voluntary. The best part is that devs can access the analytics dashboard to review their campaign's performance. 

Epic Online Services comes with a new crossplay tool that allows developers to connect their games across stores and platforms. Initially, developers had to port their titles across multiple stores. And players who didn't buy the game from the same platform couldn't play together. But the new crossplay feature fixes this issue. Now, players can interact and play a multiplayer game together regardless of the platform they downloaded the game from.

5. Self-publishing

Developers can access self-publishing tools by participating in Epic's Closed Beta. The self-publishing tools allow devs to set up their product pages, offers, pricing, upload builds, and updates on the Epic Games Store. Epic anticipates this move will help it outshine its biggest rival, Steam, and grow its games library faster. It is noteworthy that only VR games and non-game products are excluded from the Closed Beta program.

Once onboarded by the Epic team members, you can start creating your presence in the store. You can add links to your official website on the Epic Games Store page. Customers can allowlist your product to get email updates and push notifications about your game.

Additionally, the self-publishing tools allow you to localize your content for your global audience. Epic Games Store currently supports up to 16 languages. You can translate the text, images, and videos per your target audience's language. Epic Games even provides complimentary localization services for all games on their store.

A crucially important fact is that Closed Beta participants launching games with multiplayer functionality should support crossplay. Also, remember that Epic penalizes games with harmful and illegal content, pornography, and fake games.

6. Extensive payment system

Epic Games Store currently accepts ‌43 currencies! Their extensive payment system makes the transaction process easy so that users can pay in their currency. The payment processing fees are charged directly to the purchaser and aren't included in the revenue share. 

Some of the payment methods Epic accepts include:

  • ATM/bank transfer
  • Alfamart
  • Alipay HK
  • Amazon Pay
  • A range of credit cards
  • DOKU Wallet
  • DotPay Przelewy Online
  • PayPal
  • And more!

Additionally, players can use their Epic Games Wallet, which is now available in more than 140 countries. Players from areas including Latin America, Africa, Morocco, Pakistan, and even Antarctica can add funds to their local EGS currency. They can load money into their Epic Games accounts and even request refunds directly to their wallet, even if they didn't initially pay using the wallet. If their wallet has insufficient funds during a transaction, they can pay the remaining amount using an alternate method.

Technology online banking money transfer, e-commerce concept. Happy young man using smartphone with dollar bills flying away from screen isolated on gray wall office background.

Get your game on with our game launch guide!

Enjoyed this article? Want to know more about launching a game? We've got much more to share with you in The Game Dev’s Guide to the Best Game Launch!


Market your game on the Epic Game Store the right way!

Compelling the audience to press "download" can still be challenging even after you know how to launch a game. Enticing the audience means saying the right words in the right tone and including high-quality images and videos to make them feel the game is PERFECT for them! And this requires in-depth audience understanding. 

We at Game Marketing Genie have an effective Epic Games marketing strategy that can make your game a blockbuster. GMG is a full-service game marketing agency offering developers a customized game marketing strategy. Our game marketing strategies can massively boost your download rates and ensure you get a high return.

Allow us to draft your game listing that can convince your audience. Get in touch with us now, and our game marketing experts will show you the right path!

Topics:Video Game Marketing StrategyVideo Game MarketingDigital Marketing StrategyGame Launch

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