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Another Bad PR Sign: Indie Developer Shuns Epic Store, Saying 'My Word Means Something'

Another Bad PR Sign: Indie Developer Shuns Epic Store, Saying 'My Word Means Something'

5 years ago
Anonymous $4ckUSNo_FL

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190823/13052842848/another-bad-pr-sign-indie-developer-shuns-epic-store-saying-my-word-means-something.shtml

We were just discussing how there are some cracks starting to show in the PR war that Epic decided to kick off when it initiated the PC gaming platform war against Steam. Part of the problem Epic has is that, despite its attempt to frame its exclusivity deals as some attempt to heal a broken PC gaming industry, the public very clearly isn't buying it. It's gotten bad enough that publishers that buy into Epic's exclusive deals are proactively messaging publicly to the gaming masses that they would prefer not to be the target of widespread harassment.

That, honestly, is bad enough to warrant concern by the industry as a whole. But when indie developers begin coming out publicly to refuse an Epic Store agreement, and frame that decision as a moral choice, the problem has only deepened. Wlad Marhulets is the solo developer behind Darq, a horror game released recently. He got an email from Epic seeking to sell the game on the Epic Store. Marhulets read the email and its request for an exclusivity deal, then he took a look at all the backlash other publishers have faced for entering into that agreement, and decided that he would be breaking his word to the public by entering into such a deal.

Another Bad PR Sign: Indie Developer Shuns Epic Store, Saying 'My Word Means Something'

Aug 27, 2019, 3:15am UTC
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190823/13052842848/another-bad-pr-sign-indie-developer-shuns-epic-store-saying-my-word-means-something.shtml > We were just discussing how there are some cracks starting to show in the PR war that Epic decided to kick off when it initiated the PC gaming platform war against Steam. Part of the problem Epic has is that, despite its attempt to frame its exclusivity deals as some attempt to heal a broken PC gaming industry, the public very clearly isn't buying it. It's gotten bad enough that publishers that buy into Epic's exclusive deals are proactively messaging publicly to the gaming masses that they would prefer not to be the target of widespread harassment. > That, honestly, is bad enough to warrant concern by the industry as a whole. But when indie developers begin coming out publicly to refuse an Epic Store agreement, and frame that decision as a moral choice, the problem has only deepened. Wlad Marhulets is the solo developer behind Darq, a horror game released recently. He got an email from Epic seeking to sell the game on the Epic Store. Marhulets read the email and its request for an exclusivity deal, then he took a look at all the backlash other publishers have faced for entering into that agreement, and decided that he would be breaking his word to the public by entering into such a deal.