Earlier today, Epic Games announced a new publishing deal with three developers (to begin with). PLAYDEAD, Remedy Entertainment, and gen DESIGN will be working in partnership with Epic Games on new titles.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, had the following to say:
“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.”
According to Epic, these partnerships are built upon a few fundamental tenets.
- 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.
Here’s a preview of what you can expect from the deal:
Our Take
This is very interesting as these developers are well established and it furthers the discussion of Epic Games wanting to create a larger exclusive platform. We are highly interested to see the titles that come out of this agreement along with any other developers that may sign on. One thing is for certain, in-house development is becoming a major focus for the big publishers and we expect deals like this, along with acquisitions, to continue into the future.