Epic Games Store Announces Its Opt-In Exclusivity Program For Third-Party Developers

Epic Games Store introduced a new program for games that have not been released on other platforms like Steam or the Microsoft Store. The Epic First Run exclusivity program will allow developers to increase their share of revenue from their games in EGS from 88% to 100% for the first six months after release. Development teams can now start registering in October 2023, Epic revealed. 

The program will be open to games or applications that have not previously been released on other third-party stores and have not been included in PC subscription service catalogs. Please note that the new program will initially only apply to games released on or after October 16, 2023.

After the six-month period, participants in the program will continue to receive the standard 88% revenue share for their games.

"The Epic Games Store is home to a huge, rapidly growing global audience with over 230 million players and 68 million monthly active users," wrote the team. "Participating products in the Epic First Run program will be presented to those users on-store with new exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections. In addition, products will be featured in relevant store campaigns including sales, events, and editorial as applicable. Once a product joins the program, it will benefit from continued exposure throughout its Epic First Run."

Epic Games also emphasized that developers will have the option to release games in their own stores or sell them on their own websites so only using third-party stores like Steam or the Microsoft Store is prohibited.

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