Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, does not rule out the possibility of Fortnite being released in the future on Steam, but this would require significant changes in the way Valve, the owner of the store, monetizes sales. Specifically, Sweeney completely disagrees with the commissions charged by the company on its platform, calling them “ridiculous”.
Currently, Epic is riding high after its victory in the antitrust lawsuit against Google which, according to the company, “demonstrates that Google’s practices in its app store are illegal and that it abuses its monopoly to charge exorbitant fees, stifle competition, and reduce innovation.” Epic has previously faced Valve over similar policies, although outside of the courts, a situation that ultimately led to the creation of the Epic Games Store, which continues to struggle to turn a profit today.
In response to a Twitter user asking how this sentence could open the market, Sweeney said: “We will compete, and we will also put Fortnite in any serious store that offers all developers an incredible deal. Steam, Microsoft, OneStore, any: give all developers an incredible deal and we will support you. The end of those ridiculous 30% fees is near.”
Valve takes a 30% cut of all sales on Steam as a base. However, a few years ago the company introduced a scaling system that gives more money to developers with higher earnings: those who earn 10 million dollars get a rate of 25% and those who earn 50 million only give 20% to Valve. Historically, most game developers believe that Steam does not deserve a 30% fee.
Obviously, being Fortnite one of the biggest games on the planet, it would easily meet the requirements to benefit from this reduced fee, but Sweeney’s and Epic’s stance seems to be more of a matter of principles.
In this sense, Steam contrasts with Epic Games Store, which since its launch has boasted about its greater revenue sharing. Starting this month of August, developers can take 100% of their earnings for the first six months if they release their games exclusively on Epic Games Store, while others will continue to receive 88% and Epic will only take 12%.
