Back at the start of December we told you how Epic were going to take on Steam by launching their own digital storefront. We also spoke about how the Epic Games Store would be appealing to developers, as it was going to offer them 88% of the revenue from their games, but we voiced concerns about how the store would attract customers.
Well, it appears that Epic may be taking their first steps to do just that. It has just been announced that the final season of The Walking Dead will return with its third episode on January 15th, and the PC version will be available exclusively on the Epic Games Store.
This is the first time that the game won’t have been available through other avenues, such as Steam for example, and has come about because of a deal that Epic has made with Skybound Games, who took over development of The Walking Dead following the closure of Telltale Games.
This is just the kind of thing that the Epic Games Store needs. Although offering 88% of revenue to developers is great to see, that does little to affect the majority of customers. Attracting customers away from the behemoth of Steam is no easy task, but having exclusive rights to titles will definitely be the way to do it. The Walking Dead is a great start, but the storefront will still need a lot more than just that moving forward.
It’s important to note, by the way, that players who bought the entire final season of The Walking Dead up front through the likes of Steam won’t be screwed over as part of this deal. If you have already done such a thing, the final two episodes will still be available to you through that platform. As this exclusivity only relates to the PC version of the game, console players will be unaffected by this news.
Skybound Games has posted an FAQ video to YouTube all about the new exclusivity deal. The questions are answered by Melissa Hutchison, the voice actress who plays Clementine in The Walking Dead. Check it out below.
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