Epic Store's attack on PC games, says former Valve employee

By disrupting the royal reign of Steam, Epic Games Store is repairing the PC gaming market. At least that's what an ex-Valve developer says.

Valve has long enjoyed a monopoly on PC gaming. But now, Epic Games uses its fortified billions to challenge Steam where it hurts the most: its wallet. Armed with the power of an established launcher used by millions of Fortnite players, tons of money and an engine that propels many AAA games, Epic has created a storefront allowing developers to retain 88% of all revenue from games sold on the store, compared to 70% of Steam. According to Richard Gledreich, former member of Valve dev, this split creates a real competition. Some of the biggest games titles then turn to Epic Store with exclusive offers.

Gledreich, who worked on the inside lines and saw Steam's earnings behind the curtain, said the store smothered PC games and held them back.

"Steam was killing PC games, it was a 30% tax on a whole area, it was unsustainable, you do not know how profitable Steam was for Valve. It distorted society as a whole, for all players, " the dev says on Twitter.

By claiming exclusivities and gaining control over developers and publishers, Epic Store is driving change, Gledreich said. Previously, Steam regulated everything and everyone had to pay the "tax" of 30% to sell their games at the store.

"In addition, Epic has done something new for the gamer community, they have taken a stagnant market (PC gaming) and reinvigorated it with real competition.They invest hundreds of millions (billions of dollars) ?) In PC games. "

Read also: Epic Boss: the games will end up being cheaper on Epic Store

This is only the beginning. the Wars of PC games are only getting stronger. Discord's new disc game showcase has even better revenue distribution than Epic – it lets developers keep 90% of all sales – and is expected to further disrupt Steam's strong hold on the market. These three opposing forces should offer some sort of continuous system of checks and balances; when a store breaks, the other must take the opportunity to introduce and bring change, forcing others to adapt or become obsolete.

"The players think that the PC is special and immune to the dynamics of the market and the market forces.It is not the case.It has been monopolized by a single gourmet store for a long time. and the players are used to it, Gleidreich continued. "Change was inevitable, even if EGS fails, something else will appear."

The PC gambling community is very frustrated with Epic's exclusive offerings. Major games like Borderlands 3, Metro: Exodus, The Division 2 and even Remedy's new IP control system will be on Steam for a year. This lawsuit will not stop any time soon. His really the only reason someone will buy from the storeand Epic knows it.

The fury is still inflamed by the The appalling current configuration of Epic Store. The store still does not have a shopping cart or other basic features, and it is quite awkward, carefree and so superficial.

Even Gledreich recognizes the store's problems: "EGS is shitting but it will get better."