Batman: Arkham Knight was an early bar-raiser
As the “Epic vs. Apple” kaiju-esque courtroom battle gets underway, more and more tidbits are being uncovered regarding what goes on Behind the Curtain at the industry giants. Presented for your consideration: a document that reveals has much money Epic doled out in order to secure titles for Epic Games Store’s free game giveaways.
The document, released to Twitter by , paints an interesting picture of the dollar amounts certain titles cost over others. For example, old-school indie adventure Torchlight cost Epic $150,000 USD to procure for giveaway status, while Unknown World’s Subnautica cost a princely $1.4 million. Ubisoft’s multiplayer battler For Honor was a bargain at $63,000, while the most expensive title on the list is Rocksteady’s epic Batman: Arkham Knight, which sold for $1.5 million.
As the list specifically concerns 2019’s giveaways, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V — a game so in-demand it crashed the Epic Games Store’s servers back in the summer of 2020&nbs💎p; — is not ⛎noted.
Overall, Epic spent just shy of $12 million in the first nine months of its free games scheme. A fortune to the majority of us, but loose change for the Fortnite studio. Epic Games Store continues to operate at a loss, and is unlikely to turn a profit for several years more. But Epic boss Tim Sweeney is fully aware of the costs, and sees the tossed fortunes as a mere “investment” in the company’s long-term future.
The Epic vs. Apple antitrust trial continues… I’m reminded of the Alien vs. Predator tag-line.
Want to know how much $ the devs of those ‘free’ Epic Games Store games got, & how many copies were grabbed? Here’s the first 9 months to September 2019. 👀
— Simon Carless (@simoncarless)
Published: May 4, 2021 10:00 am