On Wednesday, Epic Games announced that for six months, developers will be able to keep 100% of net sales from the Epic Games Store if they choose to make their games or apps exclusive to the store. Such a program was called First Run.
Typically, Epic gives developers 88% of the revenue and the company gets 12%. For First Run developers, after six months, the split will return to 88/12.
Developers who choose to participate in the Epic First Run program will also receive other benefits. According to Epic, games and apps participating in the First Run program will be presented to store users with “new exclusive badges, homepage placements, and special collections,” and will also be featured in “related store campaigns, including sales, events, and editorials, if applicable.”
The program is open now, and the first eligible products are due to launch on or after October 16th. Here is Epic’s exact wording on which products are eligible for the program:
“A new game or app that has not previously been released on another third-party PC store or is included in a subscription service available on another third-party PC store.”
Games or apps that already have an exclusive agreement with the Epic Games Store are not eligible to participate in the program.
However, developers can participate in the First Run program and still release their products in their own stores. “Products participating in the Epic First Run program may be simultaneously released in the publisher’s and developer’s own stores, or released through direct sales,” Epic said in a statement.