• by Colin Kirkland , October 1, 2024

In an attempt to persuade more developers to post their games directly to the Epic Games Store, Epic is reducing the royalties it takes from games built with Unreal Engine and posted to the Fortnite maker’s Games Store -- from 5% to 3.5%.

Per Epic’s new “Launch Everywhere with Epic” program, which will begin on January 1, 2025, eligible developers will relinquish less revenue from their games if they have been available on the Epic Games Store since launch day. 

The program builds off Epic’s ongoing attempts at trying to convince developers to publish their games to the Games Store, which now exist on both Android and iOS.

Last year, the game and software company launched its “First Run” program, which gave developers 100% of their games’ net revenues, along with other perks, for six months if they published exclusively to the Games Store. 

Launch Everywhere expands the company’s commitment to compensating developers, as the royalty dedication will cover every platform and store where the developer lists their games, beyond the Epic Games Store. 

As The Verge notes, if a developer releases a game they created in Unreal Engine that succeeds across multiple platforms including consoles, they have the opportunity to take in a lot of extra money. 

In addition, Epic will waive Unreal Engine royalties on sales at its Games Store, offering another incentive for developers to prioritize its platform. Notably, developers using Unreal Engine are subject to royalties only after a game earns over $1 million in revenue. 

In September, the Epic Games Store reached a new peak with 70 million monthly active users, according to Vice President and General Manager of the Epic Games Store Steve Allison.

After cutting over 800 jobs last year and selling off Bandcamp, a music streaming website Epic bought in 2022, CEO Tim Sweeney says the company is back on track. Sweeney spoke at an event for Unreal Engine developers on Tuesday.