The Epic Game Store still isn’t profitable nearly five years after the platform launched. The storefront’s General Manager, Steve Allison, revealed as much when called to testify in Epic’s ongoing legal battle with Google.
The Epic Games Store operates at a loss
According to emails revealed in the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit, the company hoped to acquire a 50% share of PC game distribution. Unfortunately for Epic, its dreams have failed to live up to reality. Despite heavy investment over the last five years, The Epic Game Store remains a money sink for its parent company. As the Verge reported, Epic’s Steve Allison recently testified that the store has never been profitable. Nevertheless, Allison says that the platform continues to focus on growth.
Epic Games launched its digital store on December 6, 2018 as a competitor to Valve’s wildly popular Steam platform. The game publisher hoped to entice players with free games and a library of exclusive titles. The latter included the recently released Alan Wake II, which launched on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in October. However, Epic’s pursuit of exclusivity deals has proven controversial with PC gamers. Many fear that storefront exclusivity will divide the PC gaming community, similar to the effects of exclusivity in console gaming.
Meanwhile, Epic Games recently laid off about 900 employees, 16% of its total staff. The company is also fighting off a lawsuit from Google over an alleged breach of contract. While the storefront might someday turn a profit, it seems fair to say Epic’s situation is less than stable.
