Epic Games now allows studios to publish games without a publisher in the store, provided they meet the attached conditions. In this way, the company has achieved parity with its declared competitor Steam.
68 million monthly active users, an install base of 230 million users worldwide and a fee of just 12 percent of sales are said to attract developers to Epic. The self-publishing option is free for everyone with a few restrictions. Epic makes it a condition that the store's requirements are met. This includes cross-play support, which here only means the possibility of playing together with users of other PC stores. This doesn't just make sense for customers, as games that can only be played with users on the same platform tend to be bought on the largest platform – and that's Steam.
In addition, achievements must be included if the game has included them on other platforms. Only those who do not build any achievements are exempt from this point. In addition, Epic requires an age rating, which the company offers free of charge.
Not everything goes
Even then, every game may not be published. Epic prohibits discriminatory, pornographic, illegal or copyright-infringing content, as well as scam, fraud or misrepresentation for obvious reasons.
Last but not least, a game must be able to be reliably downloaded and launched, while functioning in accordance with the promised characteristics of the product page. Anyone who promises too much or delivers rubbish is not allowed to publish. Epic Games reserves the right to refuse games.
Valve is a role model
Basically, Epic is based on Steam with these regulations, including a rubber paragraph that allows appropriate handling of rule tricksters. Valve had repeatedly adapted the self-publishing process on the platform, now known as Direct, and had recently moved away from a purely automated solution after the flood of provocative or fraudulent and, above all, junk games became too large.
The experiences of the competitor are also incorporated elsewhere. Like Valve, Epic charges a $100 per-game fee to stem the tide of low-quality junk. In addition, the publication takes place in stages: Epic checks the shop page and game for compliance with the requirements, only then can it be published. How exactly and whether the quality check is carried out by robots or human control is not clear from the information.
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