Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been waging a very public war against Steam for years now. Michael Douse, publishing director at Larian Studios (you know, the folks who made Baldur's Gate 3), just fired back with some brutal truth.
Douse's take? "Giving everyone everything for free might bump numbers but doesn't create a viable storefront."
Damn. That's a kill shot.
He's talking about Epic's strategy of throwing free games at users to build their platform. Sure, it gets people to install the Epic Games Store. But here's the thing: nobody actually buys games there. They claim their free weekly game, then go right back to Steam.
Douse points out the real issue: "The viability of the store sits on their ability to convert hundreds of millions of Fortnite players into mid-hardcore premium gamers, and I don't see the Fortnite brand attempting to do that."
And he's absolutely right. Epic has Fortnite money. They have exclusivity deals. They have a better revenue split for developers (88/12 vs Steam's 70/30). But they don't have a functioning storefront that people actually want to use.
Steam has reviews. User-generated content. Workshop support. Cloud saves that actually work. A refund system that doesn't make you want to tear your hair out. Forums. Wishlists. Discovery queues. Game streaming to friends. The list goes on.
Epic has... a shopping cart that took years to implement. And weekly free games.
Look, I'm not trying to shill for Valve here. Steam's 30% cut is steep, especially for indie devs. But here's the thing: Steam provides value for that 30%. Epic provides exclusivity money and then wonders why nobody sticks around.
As someone who loves indie games, I want competition in the PC gaming space. But competition means building something better, not just throwing money around and hoping people forget you're running a worse product.
My take? Larian's earned the right to speak up here. They've proven you can succeed on Steam without compromising your vision. BG3 sold millions because it's an incredible game on a platform people actually trust.
Would I speedrun a game on Epic? Sure, if the game's worth it. Would I ever prefer Epic to Steam? Not until they build an actual storefront.
Verdict: Epic's been fighting the wrong battle for years. You can't buy your way into being Steam. You have to earn it.
