Epic Games Publishing is a newly announced effort from Epic Games announced today. The first game developers to have signed for it are Remedy (Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, Control), genDESIGN (The Last Guardian) and Playdead (Limbo, Inside), with additional development partners and gamers to be unveiled in the coming months.
The Epic Games approach to publishing fundamentally changes the developer/publisher model, and aims to have the most developer-friendly terms in the industry, so that creators can focus on making great games.
- Full creative freedom and ownership. Developers retain 100% of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work.
- Fully-funded projects. Epic Games Publishing will cover up to 100% of development costs, from developer salaries to go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs.
- 50/50 profit sharing. Developers earn a fair share for their work -- once costs are recouped, developers earn at least 50% of all profits.
“We’re building the publishing model we always wanted for ourselves when we worked with publishers,” said Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games.
"gen DESIGN, Remedy, and Playdead are among the most innovative and talented studios in the industry, with strong visions for their next games,” said Hector Sanchez, Head of Epic Games Publishing. “They will have full creative control, while Epic will provide a solid foundation of project funding and services.”
We do know a little more about Remedy's deal since they put out a separate press release. Remedy actually signed with Epic Games Publishing for two games, an AAA multi-platform game already in pre-production and previously referred to as the “unannounced third project” and a new smaller-scale project set in the same franchise. Both games will be developed on Remedy's own Northlight engine (the same used in Control) and are expected to launch on PC and next-generation console platforms in the next few years.
Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala said:
Remedy and Epic Games share a history of 25 years in the games industry as well as a deep understanding of the business from the developer’s and the publisher’s point of view. We are excited to form a partnership with Epic Games Publishing and bring two new games to the global audience. This partnership provides us full creative freedom to deliver our bold vision to the fullest. Together with Epic, we believe we are going to create the best Remedy games yet for our fans.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney added:
We have a long history and relationship with Remedy, going on more than two decades. They’re such an incredibly talented studio with a unique and strong creative vision, and we’re excited to support them with our publishing efforts.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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