Epic Games don't seem to be just doing exclusives now, they're also pulling in studios with Psyonix (Rocket League) announcing today they're joining Epic Games. Yes, really.
It hasn't been completely confirmed just yet though, as they're waiting on "customary closing conditions", the usual legal stuff all things like this need to go through basically.
In the announcement post on their official site they said "Today is a big day for us here at Psyonix because, just as the headline says, we’re officially joining the Epic Games family.". Going into further detail, they said in the short term nothing will change but they do expect to release on the Epic Store and this will allow them to "leverage our new relationship to grow the game in ways we couldn’t do on our own before".
As a massive fan of Rocket League, being my current favourite and most played game in the last year this news has come as a little bit of a shock. For a number of reasons, for one Epic Games don't really care much about Linux and the Epic Store has no current plans to come to Linux. Not just that, we should take into account the reports about how awful it actually sounds to work for Epic Games with one person saying "It’s killing people" which really does make you think. It also puts Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney's comments across Twitter and various interviews, about how they're trying to change the PC gaming industry and make it better, into a rather different light.
The good news is that since Rocket League is well established on Steam, there should be no chance of it suddenly vanishing as that would be truly ridiculous. It means they also have access to a lot more resources, so hopefully Rocket League will continue to do well.
Update: Well, this could be a problem. According to The Verge, it will be removed from Steam. The press release they received said "The PC version of Rocket League will come to the Epic Games store in late 2019. In the meantime, it will continue to be available for purchase on Steam; thereafter it will continue to be supported on Steam for all existing purchasers,"—it's not entirely clear if that actually means it will be removed, so I've reached out for full confirmation but the wording really doesn't sound good.
Update #2: When asked on Twitter, the official Rocket League account told us "Hey there! More information will be shared in the future. Please check out our post about this on the Rocket League website: link" which of course wasn't helpful at all. Epic Games did not reply to my email as of yet, but they did send statements to other publications like USgamer where they said "We are continuing to sell Rocket League on Steam, and have not announced plans to stop selling the game there." and also "Rocket League remains available for new purchasers on Steam, and long-term plans will be announced in the future.".
So they aren't announcing plans to remove it from Steam, despite what early reports said but they're also being clear that they do have a long-term plan of which they're not talking about. That's one way to both clarify it and keep it ambiguous in case they do remove it from Steam. However, by long-term plans they might mean some sort of free to play release, supported by an expanded Rocket Pass, it could mean anything.
Update #3: Psyonix also added this additional note to their own announcement which reads "Editor’s Note: We wanted to clarify something for you after today’s news: Rocket League is and remains available on Steam. Anyone who owns Rocket League through Steam can still play it and can look forward to continued support. Thanks!".
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
GustyGhost May 2, 2019
I have made a commitment this year to spend money exclusively on free and open source games, and I couldn't be any happier. This Epic Games news only reinforces the fact that if the source is not available for a piece of software you are running, it will eventually cuck you. And that is a matter of when, not if.
MRW not having to deal with any of that bullshit anymore.
Dribbleondo May 2, 2019
Quoting: razing32I seriously do hope Epic just burns to the ground.
This exclusives nonsense is harmful to consumers and the last thing we need is to turn PCs into consoles with exclusive stores.
As controversial as this sounds, I don't mind timed exclusives, as the game will appear on another platform/ service eventually. I dislike Epic making former steam games exclusive, but considering there's realistically, no other way they can compete with Valve. Their leverage starts at a better price ratio split thing for devs, and ends with buying up exclusives.
Do I dislike them buying titles after they release (like Rocket league). Of course I do, as that undermines potential purchasers who wanted to get the steam version, and have to get it elsewhere. This is only a net win for epic. The consumer doesn't win when it comes to what Epic and Psyonix are doing.
Last edited by Dribbleondo on 2 May 2019 at 2:51 am UTC
Koopacabras May 2, 2019
Now picture this, same thing happening but with a Feral game?? suppose codemasters signs a deal with epic, this could drive feral out of business.
Maybe that's unlikely as big studios have bigger wallets and cannot be so easily bought... but let's suppose, maybe square enix gets fed up with review bombing and pulls out their games from steam? Just cause 4 failed on steam, after all, they don't loose anything by giving it a shot on epic store, so in that case they would start favoring epic store over steam.
Let's just hope bigger studios, that have bigger wallets, can't have their arms twisted so easily.
Oh man, now that MS is being more open, adopting open source stuff, I thought that the days of the linux hatred were long gone, Epic is the new M$.
Last edited by Koopacabras on 2 May 2019 at 5:25 am UTC
Quoting: KristianThis sucks, but unlike what an earlier comment said Epic is NOT publucally traded.
They aren't, but tencent [who owns 40% of epic] is, and they are also the ones helping bankroll of these purchases. Everyone things epic can't sustain such spending, yet I imagine tencent can.
RussianNeuroMancer May 2, 2019
Quoting: ElectroDDThey will sabotage themselves in 3-4 years by being too greedy or because investors want more.Like EA sabotage themselves every year, yet they earn more money every year?
Arehandoro May 2, 2019
Fuck game exclusives, fuck Epic, fuck Psyonix, fuck every single independent company selling away, fuck every big company becoming bigger and fuck this industry.
Quoting: tonRNo words. Linux gaming world is kinda 1 step forward and 2 steps back right now. Thanks to EG.Refund was unsuccessful but the message should be heard loud and clear by someone at Bellevue.
I bought a copy of Rocket League's GoTY edition on 28th Apr 2018. Play it like 1 hour online (and several offline).
As protest to latest EG moves, I requested a refund from Valve. Not expecting the refund at all but if I successfully refunded, I'm totally happy and will buying Forager. It looks fun.
This is my third refund request throughout 3-4 years I buying games legally on Steam. And first refund request totally asking for refund. First 2 refunds because I bought wrong DLCs.
Also here's my other suggestion...
If you have a copy of Euro Truck Simulator 2. PLEASE...
1. Delete a DLC named Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Rocket League Promo
2. Snap a screenshot of DLC being delete (untick/ Not Installed)
3. Send an email consist of screenshot + ask DLC to removed + positive message about ETS and anti-EG, to them at [email protected]
Maybe SCS software cannot do anything (as they have nothing to do with RL decision or EG) but still, your voice should be heard.
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