OP
OP
Buy the games on EGS then add an shortcut to an external game via Steam.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
How Does Epic Afford To Have These Prices On The Epic Game Store?
- Thread starter PS9
- Start date
I bought Fallen Order the other day with that coupon.
I need 3, in words: three ! launchers running to play the game.
- Origin
- Epic store
- ... and Steam (because there is no controller support except for XBOX controller)
I love how such a "tiny" company like EA cannot be bothered to have proper controller support while many indies do it.
I also love how basically every help on the internet for controller issues basically says "just run it through Steam"
And that, ladies and gentlemen is the true power of Steam: Steam input!
Edit: Oh and the Epic launcher is a piece of shit. It's terrible. Awful.
I need 3, in words: three ! launchers running to play the game.
- Origin
- Epic store
- ... and Steam (because there is no controller support except for XBOX controller)
I love how such a "tiny" company like EA cannot be bothered to have proper controller support while many indies do it.
I also love how basically every help on the internet for controller issues basically says "just run it through Steam"
And that, ladies and gentlemen is the true power of Steam: Steam input!
Edit: Oh and the Epic launcher is a piece of shit. It's terrible. Awful.
Steam Input is a beast. I play on a private server of a game and there is all these guides for controller workarounds for Xinput, but I just simply add the game to Steam and add a whole bunch of extra stuff to the game that makes it so much better to play than the stock experience. I've been slowly teaching other people how to improve their gameplay experience with it too.
They're very clearly desperate, but at this point I despise them so much due to the moneyhats that there's absolutely nothing they can do to get me to ever use the EGS. I haven't even installed the EGS on my PC, and I won't install it.
Like, I prefer Steam to other platforms because the feature set is so good. Steam is by far the best PC platform, it's not even close. But while I have nothing against using GOG Galaxy, Uplay etc for certain games, Epic has made me actively despise and avoid their shitty store.
Like, I prefer Steam to other platforms because the feature set is so good. Steam is by far the best PC platform, it's not even close. But while I have nothing against using GOG Galaxy, Uplay etc for certain games, Epic has made me actively despise and avoid their shitty store.
They are buying market share basically. Nothing unusual in any line of business. There's no other way to take on Steam.
That isn't actually uncommon. There are innumerable companies built on the idea of building an audience at a loss for some years while blowing literal billions until a stable market is made. For instance, Uber is still unprofitable, losing over a billion dollars this year alone. Somewhere along the line, it became incredibly common for new companies to fail hard for years while being buoyed by venture capital. Makes me think of the absolute insanity that was Moviepass. I suppose they're lucky to have folded before COVID hit... Anyway, there is a small difference here in that Epic seems to use their own funds from their profitable areas as opposed to using outside money but it's a similar idea.
You are absolutely right but for me its hard to play games on the EGS unless its exclusive. I only used their coupon once for diabotical season pass. I'll usually just wait for a sale somewhere else. If it had xbox live achievements it would solve all my problems lol
They are willing to take the loss if it gets new people hooked into their eco system. Not that much diffrent from what MS is doing with GamePass.
You only list the initial game prices - but not the amount of recouring transactions that might happen from DLC, MTX and other additional content down the line - if these customers buy that stuff as well on the EGS, it might just work out for Epic.
Its not like there is much else you can do if you are competing against established market leaders - Steam/Sony pushed Epic/MS into a similar direction, you pretty much have to offer to good to be true deals to fight against the lock-in effect already in place on bigger stores.
3rdParties are okay with it on EGS because of the bigger profit share and the smaller amount of competition compared to Steam.
You only list the initial game prices - but not the amount of recouring transactions that might happen from DLC, MTX and other additional content down the line - if these customers buy that stuff as well on the EGS, it might just work out for Epic.
Its not like there is much else you can do if you are competing against established market leaders - Steam/Sony pushed Epic/MS into a similar direction, you pretty much have to offer to good to be true deals to fight against the lock-in effect already in place on bigger stores.
3rdParties are okay with it on EGS because of the bigger profit share and the smaller amount of competition compared to Steam.
The reason Epic does is that they don't have the player base they were expecting. They initially were talking about stopping after the first year, but we're at the end of the second and they're still giving away games. The unannounced extension of this plan isn't coming out of some samaritanism - they're still trying to get more engagement and purchases happening on their store (hint: giving a ton of games over two years doesn't encourage people to pay for your offerings)
Steam game giveaways weren't organized by Valve, but rather individual publishers/developers who were trying to get more eyeballs on their next game or something of the sort.
True, but combine that with the regular free games. I have over 150 games in my epic library and have paid a grand total of $0.
Some of these prices are the same as what I've seen on other storefronts so them making money off these doesn't seem outlandish.
I mean it's kind of working on me at least. I bought a lot in the Epic sale because the unlimited $10 coupons are just a great deal. At the end of the day it's just a launcher, it's one more click to log into, I don't really care that much.
I've also realized that having all my games in one single library doesn't matter at all to me anymore. Sure it looks nice and is very satisfying but ultimately that's not how I decide to play games. I usually already know what I'm in the mood for before I go to my computer.
I've also realized that having all my games in one single library doesn't matter at all to me anymore. Sure it looks nice and is very satisfying but ultimately that's not how I decide to play games. I usually already know what I'm in the mood for before I go to my computer.
My main thing would be that a looooooot of games aren't on EGS. Like, a very small fraction of what you can find on PC is actually on there, mostly super mainstream stuff or games taking exclusive or freebie deals. Ain't no Yakuza, Monster Hunter, Dark Souls, barely anything from Sega or Square Enix, and nothing from Microsoft, EA, or Capcom. I basically can't play four out of five games I'd want to on there, and I can safely bet the store won't be able to get a real foothold unless they address that.
Last edited:
It's called predatory/anti-competitive pricing. Using profits from one product to take market share in an unrelated market.
You see this all the time, for some reason it's not really punished even if it is illegal in the EU.
Amazon selling lower than cost to bankrupt brick and mortar stores.
Microsoft giving away games with game pass.
Google using profits from the search engine to develop/give away the chrome browser.
It is allowed when you are the underdog but when the big companies starts doing it it is a problem in the eyes of the law.
You see this all the time, for some reason it's not really punished even if it is illegal in the EU.
Amazon selling lower than cost to bankrupt brick and mortar stores.
Microsoft giving away games with game pass.
Google using profits from the search engine to develop/give away the chrome browser.
It is allowed when you are the underdog but when the big companies starts doing it it is a problem in the eyes of the law.
Yeah, but not every storefront is giving out limitless coupons though lol
MS doesn't give away games in Game Pass. It's part of a subscription service and games rotate in and out of the service
Not that cleanly -- anyone who Epic takes on can use the counter-argument that Epic is a new player, intentionally burning cash and setting low prices to attract buyers & sellers to their platform. It's still an open question if Epic's 12% cut will be sustainable over the long term.
MS sells short-term subscriptions for almost nothing (think of all those $3 three-month deals), but it's an introductory rate. They're trying to grow a service that only has one direct competitor (PS Now) that makes a similar introductory rate offer.
Okay? They still aren't giving away free games lol, which is what I was responding to
The maximum cut off a $60 game for Epic is just over $7. How does giving away $10 for every purchase in the OP make money?
Because my 10-year old nephew has spent about $700 on Fortnite skins. Actually, that was the total a year ago I think, so it's probably higher now.
I'm sure they're thinking if people have big enough libraries they'll be more likely to buy from EGS. We always hear from people who love Steam that Epic should compete on features, and that's fine, but let's be honest, they could have 100% the same feature set and most people would still buy on Steam because that's where their library and their friends are.
Speaking of which, don't forget to grab Alien Isolation in the next hour if you forgot. Today is probably Metro 2033.
I'm sure they're thinking if people have big enough libraries they'll be more likely to buy from EGS. We always hear from people who love Steam that Epic should compete on features, and that's fine, but let's be honest, they could have 100% the same feature set and most people would still buy on Steam because that's where their library and their friends are.
Speaking of which, don't forget to grab Alien Isolation in the next hour if you forgot. Today is probably Metro 2033.
I would love to know their acquisition cost per non Fortnite customer. It has to be at an insane amount.
bruh I saw people here contemplating cancelling their Cyberpunk preorders just because it was a gog key
there's no way they're currently making a profit, but if they want to stand a chance, they'll have to keep this up for a while longer until people have accumulated more titles in their library.
there's no way they're currently making a profit, but if they want to stand a chance, they'll have to keep this up for a while longer until people have accumulated more titles in their library.
I think it's more likely they're just not getting anything back on their margin for these games. A game like immortals is $35 on PSN I think. So that's only slightly cheaper on Epic.
They can afford to do that, because they're still at a period where they just want more people in their ecosystem. More folks playing Fortnite too, which they advertise heavily to their users.
They can afford to do that, because they're still at a period where they just want more people in their ecosystem. More folks playing Fortnite too, which they advertise heavily to their users.
OP
OP
Almost certainly - Exodus Last Light have deep discounts while 2033 is full price.
Gotta spend money to build a platform. They want regular epic store users, not profits from game sales (for now).
They also give a ton of games away for free. Same reasoning.
They also give a ton of games away for free. Same reasoning.
I guess the kids playing fortnite will be future customers. They don't have the years of invested games on steam, but have years to buy games themself in the future.
The entire EGS is a money sink held up by their Fortnite money. A strategy that I don't think will work in the end regardless of how many people download the app. They're honestly just conditioning people with incredibly cheap or free games. No one buys shit on that store otherwise and when the free games stop coming and deep discounts disappear they may have a problem. Brute forcing their way into the market in the strangest way.
Ha, that's pretty funny! It never occurred to me that this would be possible.
That's very possible. They'll have a big library of games and a long history with the store, and they'll be in the same position many of us have been with Steam.
Steam did roughly the same in the early days. The first 3-4 years of the store had some insane bundles on publisher / developer catalogs.