It’s hard not to spot some kind of controversy any time the Epic Games store is mentioned. This time around, it involves the platform’s first major sale event. Steam is obviously the platform’s biggest competitor and sales on Valve’s storefront have essentially become holidays at this point. Epic Games started its own first sale off with the bold decision to cover the cost of discounts so developers and publishers receive the same amount of revenue from game sales. Despite that, though, some publishers opted out of the sale.
The Epic Games store Mega Sale is a four-week sale where Epic is taking $10 off every single game priced over $14.99. Despite Epic covering the cost, Gamasutra reports that two publishers have decided to pull their game from the store for the duration of the sale.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and Oxygen Not Included were taken off the Epic Games store by Paradox Interactive and Klei Entertainment. Bloodlines 2 was pulled after the sale went live and while Epic respects the decision any publisher decides to make, Epic says it will honor the discounted price for those who did make the purchase before it was removed.
“If a developer or publisher chooses to not participate in our sales, we will honor that decision,” explained Epic in a statement to Kotaku. “Paradox Interactive has chosen to not participate in the Epic Mega Sale and the game has been temporarily removed from sale.
If you’re wondering why any publisher or developer would not be interested in the sales boost despite not losing any money, there’s a lot more to it than a discount. Epic Games is fighting a strategic battle to cut into Steam’s massive market share and some companies may not be ready to commit one way or another just yet. Thus, every move will be scrutinized. Facing off against Steam is a tough journey for any company. It’s an uphill battle with boulders careening downward, but the Epic Games store is a rare example in being able to feel that the company behind it is taking high-profile steps toward competing.
In this particular instance, Epic’s Sergey Galyonkin learned that Paradox Interactive was not aware of how the promotion worked for the sale. You’d imagine that the game would return to the store once the mechanism was explained, but so far that doesn’t seem to be the case.
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