It’s no secret that the Epic Game Store is a controversial topic. We’ve written multiple times about it, from the CEO of Epic Games talking about his viewpoint, to games getting review bombed over it, and how developers are looking at the disruption. Borderlands 3 was the latest high profile title to be announced as a timed exclusive to the storefront, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford took to Twitter to explain the deal, why it happened, and to quell some of the concerns of the Epic Games Store’s lack of features compared to other storefronts.
According to Pitchford, the decision wasn’t his, but instead was on the game’s publisher, 2K Games, and does admit he thinks they have done a poor job communicating the decision.
He says he understands why people are upset with the features lacking on the Epic Games Store, but defends the move, saying its part of Epic’s attempt at being competitive over Steam (which has become the de facto leader in the PC market) and that he feels Epic’s investment will have more long term gains and eventually take lead in the market, while also saying the much talked about revenue split, which sees the Epic Game Store gives a bigger cut of profits to publishers than Steam and most other storefronts, is part of the decision.
Whether or not he is right is something we’ll have to wait and see. You can check out his tweets below- it’s a lengthy conversation about Steam, Epic and the future of PC gaming.
First – Please understand that although I may have thoughts and opinions about this topic, the authority here truly is in the hands of our publishing partner, 2k Games. So while I may have some influence, I cannot force anything (and this ship has sailed, so to speak).
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
Competition in stores is going to be absolutely best for consumers and probably good for developers and publishers as well. The stores that tend to win are the stores that offer the best to their customers. It’s very difficult for customer interest to be king with one store.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
Also, some features that Steam has may be features that are not part of Epic’s vision and some features Steam never contemplated may be part of Steam’s vision. The vision for how a store should interact with a customer and a developer and a publisher is all part of the equation.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
Epic has published a near term road map. This road map includes a look into things they are committing to. If I were a betting man, I would expect that there are more things that happen than what they are committing to.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
Competition in stores is going to be absolutely best for consumers and probably good for developers and publishers as well. The stores that tend to win are the stores that offer the best to their customers. It’s very difficult for customer interest to be king with one store.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
From a track record point of view, my expectation is that Epic’s investment in technology will outpace Valve’s substantially. When we look back at Steam in five or ten years, it may look like a dying store and other, competitive stores, will be the place to be.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
Steam will have no choice but to either give up, lose or to get better faster than ever before. This is good for Steam customers, developers and publishers.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
I have no idea why this conversation hasn’t happened. I tried to encourage 2k over and over to get stuff like this out there (from their perspective), but I think they’re afraid. Every time I talk, they just come down on me and ask me to STFU.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
