The PC gaming market feels like it’s in a state of constant controversy these days. Largely it’s due to the actions of Epic Games, which we’ve detailed and reported on extensively here at GamingBolt, and their aggressive strategy toward buying exclusive titles for their new storefront and launcher, the Epic Games Store. It’s seen a range of different titles from different publishers and developers dropping Steam as a result, with one of the latest and biggest being Borderlands 3. One company that PC players may not have to worry about is Rebellion Developments, developers of the Sniper Elite games.
Speaking in the latest MCVUK magazine, CEO Jason Kingsley says Rebellion is unlikely to go exclusive to the Epic Games Store. He doesn’t rule out the possibility, but says he wants the company’s games to be exposed to the biggest possible audience.
On the other hand, despite that, he’s dismissive of the criticisms leveled at Epic Games. Many of those who oppose their current method say they’re using console-like tactics in what was before a mostly open ecosystem. Kingsley says that even if he understands the annoyance from a consumer standpoint, he understands why Epic Games went down this route.
“I’m not really a big believer in exclusives,” he said. “For me the relationship I have with the consumer is important and it matters to me how many people buy and play my game. We listen to our fans as best we can. It’s not just compensating us for lost sales on platform X or Y. Fine, that might derisk the project, but you also have to factor in the cost of the negative reaction from people who are upset by that decision. There’s a kind of fairness aspect to this, and I want to be fair to the fans who want to buy it on the platform they want. So that’s sort of my feeling at the moment. I guess that could change but there would have to be a bloody good reason.
“Our plans do not involve doing anything exclusive like that but I think it’d be dishonest for me to say we would never do it or rule it out. But I think it’s extremely unlikely. I understand why Epic are doing the exclusives. I entirely understand the business case for it, because they’ve got to, because they’ve got to drive people to their platform. Do I support them in it? I have to say as a consumer it’s a bit annoying but it’s not that annoying really, because it’s hardly any effort, having another launcher on your system.”
There are other criticisms levied at Epic Games, of course, with many finding their launcher barebones and lacking basic features, as well as security concerns. Either way, Tim Sweeney has made it clear they have no plans to stop the current strategy, so we’ll just have to see how it all develops as time goes on.
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