This morning, the growing PC gaming storefront reported it’s overall projections from 2019 that revealed just how much success Epic had from the strategy they’ve used throughout the year. For those not in the know, Epic has been trying to usurp Steam as the king of the PC gaming distribution space. Throughout 2019, Epic Games Store kicked the door down and started offering both AAA and indie games on their own service, competing with the like of both Valve and those offered by game publishers like EA’s Origin.
According to GamesIndustry International, it has earned $680 million from spending across 108 million PC consumers. This is just nuts. Keep in mind that this is only the first year that the Epic Games Store has been a thing, which is some rather impressive growth. So, what made Epic’s new store so popular? Simple really, it was the same two things that everyone either loves or hates about the Epic Games Store, and it’s the two big banners that Epic uses to bring in new and returning customers.
A big part of that growth comes from the big appeal that AAA games pull in within the gaming sector. Epic made $251 million alone from players picking up games from companies such as Ubisoft, Rockstar Games, and Electronic Arts. These AAA and indie titles were also mixed in with the second layer of Epic’s approach, mainly timed exclusives. AAA games are a big part of that. Games like World War Z, Untitled Goose Game, The Outer Worlds, Borderlands 3, Metro Exodus all combined to keep players coming back to Epic for PC gaming.
People keep coming back to the store for one more reason, free games. Epic has given away dozens of games in 2019. Apparently Epic has given away 73 games in all throughout 2019. These include a decent mix of both major and indie releases, and Epic has constantly rotated the free game roster each week on average.
And yes, Epic has said they will keep both of these major incentives going in 2020. With them making more than $500 million over the year, why wouldn’t they anyway.
