Epic Games Store Strategy: Free Games > Exclusives

Exclusives haven’t proven to be as successful for the Epic Games Store as initially hoped. According to Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, the real key to their success has been giving away free games.

Sweeney shared this insight with reporters, explaining that while they spent a significant amount of money on exclusives, most did not yield the expected results. However, the free games program has been a game-changer for the company.

While Sweeney didn’t specify which exclusives were successful, recent examples like Alan Wake 2, which did not recoup its development costs, show the challenges of exclusive deals. Other past exclusives on the Epic Games Store include Metro Exodus, Outer Wilds, and Hades.

Epic Games Store Embraces Free Games Strategy

Despite the mixed results with exclusives, Sweeney emphasized the effectiveness of the free games initiative. He noted that offering free games may seem counterintuitive, but it has been a cost-effective strategy for user acquisition compared to traditional advertising methods.

Currently, the Epic Games Store is offering free titles like Death’s Gambit: Afterlife and World of Warships, with more on the horizon, such as The Callisto Protocol. In 2021, users claimed 586 million free games, and in 2022, nearly 700 million free games were claimed by Epic Games Store customers.