Epic Games is fighting a war for its future within the industry. While they started some of them, the events warrant questions on the company’s potential future.
Game studio Epic Games is not only the creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine anymore. They are now fighting a war on multiple fronts, fighting giants of the gaming industry.
They’re currently in a war with Steam, Apple, and Google. The company is also under intense scrutiny from the Trump administration. This situation makes people question what’s the future for Tim Sweeney and his company.
Epic is a master at disruptive tactics
Love them or hate them, Epic as a studio is one of the smartest companies in the game industry right now. Unlike other studios, they don’t like playing by the rules. Their brand of disruptive marketing is fantastic to see in a generally fluid industry.
Epic started their disruptive tactics with the creation of the Epic Games Store. Their storefront is there to fight back the video gaming monolith that is Steam. While they’re not replacing any time soon, their tactics are wild and fascinating.
The Epic Games Store as a storefront offers things unseen before it came. Upfront payment to devs to create Epic exclusives come to mind. There’s also the free games every week, and a paltry 12% development cut to boot.
These techniques, notwithstanding people’s opinion, allowed them to get second place. While Steam is still the best storefront, EGS is overtaking others that came before it. They outpace storefronts like Origin, GOG, and itch.io for number two.
Epic fighting wars on different fronts
Another interesting sight to behold is their current court battle with Apple and Google. Instead of earning consistent income from Fortnite, Epic Games sacrificed their mobile audience. They’re fighting a war to fend off “monopolistic practices” from Apple and Google.
While Google stayed mum throughout the situation, Apple is fighting back with ferocity. Depending on the outcome of the process, Epic is gambling away their profits for a bigger share.
In the event of a win for Epic, they’ll likely push their Epic App Store into iOS, seen on their lawsuit’s page 5 line 24. Much like EGS, they’re offering lower app store tax than the competition. Yet again, their disruptive tactics, though they seem dirty, are effective thus far.
If Epic gets a win across all their court battles, they’re likely creating an ecosystem out of the rubble. Epic Games’ storefronts will put them in desktops and mobile devices across the globe. A win for Epic means the possible start of a vast gaming empire.
Even then, that’s looking too far ahead. Epic is still in a long, drawn-out battle against tech giants. The Trump administration is still probing them due to their Tencent investors.
The future of Epic Games relies on the outcome of their disruptive tactics within the industry. The payoff will be significant if they can win their battles right now.
Featured image courtesy of Epic Games/YouTube Screenshot