Epic Games Store self-publishing launches, requires online cross-play

Epic Games Store now allows developers to self-publish their game. Fortnite Rocket League publisher’s storefront for PC games. It’s a milestone for the store, as it has steadily gained features over recent years to better compete with Steam. It could be a big deal for some developers, too, as it simplifies the process to publish and find a new — and possibly, bigger — audience than they might on Steam’s Very crowded homepage, which sells a mix of games and Valve’s own Steam Deck.

Epic’s requirements for game submissions differ from Steam’s in one big way: by requiring that online multiplayer games support PC cross-play. Epic Games Store must release a game that allows you to play online with others who have it through other retailers, like Steam and the Xbox PC App.

It’s ultimately a good thing to enforce this from a consumer perspective, even though it’s likely a lot of work for developers to implement. Arkane Studios sets a great example with its recent announcement that Arkane Studios will be implementing the policy. Redfall Cross-play will be possible on PC. The Xbox 360 consoles support cross-platform play.

Like Valve’s Steam, Epic asks for a one-time $100 fee to self-publish a game (alternatives like itch.io remain free), although the revenue split with the Epic Game Store shakes out more in the developer’s favor compared to Steam. Epic collects 12% of revenue from games sold, compared to Steam’s much higher (but relatively industry standard) 30% revenue share for most games. Steam changed parts of their revenue sharing plan in 2018 to reward top-selling sellers who earned more than $10 million.

Epic has also released its Year in Review results 2022, in which it revealed that the 99 games it provided for free last year totalled $2,240. The company also stated that free games will still be given out in 2023. Owen Good, who is my colleague, will be continuing to tell you every week about new games.