We reported earlier today that Kickstarter backers of Shenmue 3 will be able to request refunds after all, as developer Ys Net reached an understanding with the Epic Games Store and Deep Silver. While the developer did also offer plenty of options for backers to redeem the games on PC and PlayStation 4, it will still allow refund requests at a later date. Now, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has taken to Twitter to affirm his commitment to cover the costs of all Kickstarter refunds of future exclusive games.
When future games go Epic-exclusive after offering crowdfunding rewards on other PC stores, we’ll either coordinate with colleagues at the other stores to ensure key availability in advance, or guarantee refunds at announcement time.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 2, 2019
Epic Games Store and revenue share
Since the introduction of the Epic Games Store, we’ve seen a fair share of controversial statements coming from Tim Sweeney. For instance, as we reported, he told a Twitter user that, if Valve matched the Steam revenue share with the 88-12% that is unique to the Epic Games Store, he would drop exclusives as a market strategy. He also told another user that exclusivity is the only way to fix the revenue problem.
The incentives that the Epic Games Store is providing to indie developers are highly commendable, no doubt. The problem is that there’s just not enough nuance in the discussion of revenue share yet. But it’s definitely a discussion worth having, and we’ll probably be having it for a very long time.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Will the Epic Games Store change revenue share on the PC market while things stay the same on other platforms? Drop your comments below — we’d love to hear your thoughts!
