CEO Tim Sweeney stated earlier this week that Epic would cease pursuing exclusive game deals should competitor Valve increase revenue shares for developers and publishers on its platform, Steam.
Currently, Epic’s policy for revenue shares with developers and publishers is 88/12. Valve has a slightly more complicated split, starting at 70/30. That percentage changes if the game developer or publisher earns between $10 million and $50 million in sales, the split goes to 75/25. Above $50 million in sales, the share is 80/20.
Valve’s current policy heavily favors larger gaming publishers and studios, leaving indie and small to mid-sized developers taking home a smaller share of their earnings.
Sweeney wants to change that. In a larger Twitter thread, Sweeney stated that the “30% store dominance is the #1 problem for everyone who relies on those businesses for their livelihoods. We’re determined to fix it and this is the one approach that will effect major change.”
Sweeney went on to say that should Steam change their current policy to mirror their own 88/12 revenue share, Epic would no longer seek exclusivity deals with game publishers.
We have reached out to Valve for a comment on Sweeney’s statement and will update when they respond.
RYAN R. HAY 