Is it time for Tim Sweeney to consider giving up his battle against Valve and Steam?
Perhaps, as the Epic v. Google trial continues to drag out, and one of the latest revelations that has emerged as part of the argument between the two companies is the fact that the Epic Games Store has failed to make a profit despite having launched years ago.
Epic Games launched its Steam competitor in December 2018, which would make the Epic Games Store close to five years old now.
Here’s what The Verge observed, whose editors were present to hear remarks made by Steve Allison, boss of the Epic Games Store, who also apparently thought his shop would be a bigger deal by now in the eyes of PC gamers:
We knew the company was spending millions to give away free games every week, but we’d heard it was a bit of a money sink despite not actually paying for each and every copy given away.
In case you’re keeping track, Epic Games Store boss Steve Allison says on the witness stand his store isn’t profitable yet. The goal is still growth, he says. Emails revealed during the Epic v. Apple trial suggested the company was hoping to claim half of all PC gaming revenue.
Some of the more recent updates pertaining to the Epic v. Google trial, which stems from the Fortnite maker suing Google back in 2020 over in-app purchase fees on Google Play, alleging an illegal monopoly, include the idea that the Epic Games Store has actually helped game developers over the course of its existence.
Allison testifies that after the Epic Game Store launched with an 88/12 split (meaning developers keep 88 percent of the revenue), Valve’s Steam, Microsoft’s Windows Store, and Discord all reacted by giving more money to developers…
On the flip side, Google has seemingly been worried about a so-called “contagion effect,” where companies, including not only Epic, but Samsung and many others, asking for higher and higher revenue shares, leading to potential losses as high as $2 billion.