To empower third-party developers, Epic Games has unveiled its latest initiative — the Epic First Run program — an exclusively opt-in program designed to provide developers with 100% revenue during the first six months of their product being on the Epic Games Store.
In this way, the participating developers can increase their net revenue from user spending on qualifying products from the standard 88% to 100%. Following the exclusivity period, the revenue split will revert to the standard 88%/12% model. As reported by Engadget, the net revenue doesn’t include taxes and refunds.
What sets this program apart is its strategic focus on developer exposure. With the Epic Games Store boasting an expansive global audience of over 230 million players, including a staggering 68 million monthly active users, products enrolled in the Epic First Run program will gain prominent visibility.
Exclusive badges, prime placements on the homepage, and dedicated collections within the store will captivate users’ attention. Moreover, these products will take centre stage in various store campaigns, including sales, events, and editorials, ensuring a sustained spotlight throughout the Epic First Run.
The Epic First Run program does not discriminate by developer size, providing an equal opportunity for all scales of developers to tap into the global audience right from launch. While this opportunity marks a pivotal part of a product’s release journey, Epic Games emphasises that active marketing engagement with the target audience is a critical success factor.
Eligibility for the Epic First Run program requires registered Epic Games developer accounts and new releases set to launch on or after October 16, 2023. However, products under pre-existing exclusivity agreements with the Epic Games Store are not eligible.
Developers interested in participating can conveniently register through the self-publishing flow in the Epic Developer portal, scheduled to open in October 2023.
Epic Games is already providing substantially more net revenue than Valve and others. With this move, Epic Games plans to attract more developers to take the exclusivity offer, which will be a win-win situation for both parties.
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