Coffee Stain Studios’ new open-world factory-building game Satisfactory is an Epic exclusive, and the Goat Simulator developer has explained that this decision offered the team greater financial security at the expense of a ‘loud minority’ revoking their support.
Speaking to PCGamesN, UI and UX designer Nathalie Verwei explained the advantages of taking an exclusivity arrangement. ‘I think as an indie studio it’s nice to have that security that you know that your game is going to get out there and you don’t need to worry about making certain financial deadlines,’ she said. ‘You can just focus on making a good game.’
She admitted that the decision was not a popular one. Glumberland, developer of sweet farming sim Ooblets, found itself in a similar situation and published a post discussing the whys and wherefores of its Epic exclusivity deal. Its playful humour was construed to be patronising and the developer was sent ‘thousands if not tens of thousands’ of messages containing anti-Semitic, racist and violent abuse.
Epic Games has pledged to support developers who are unfairly targeted as a result of their partnership, and Verwei said that these critics are a ‘loud minority’. She elaborated that Epic Games is helping independent developers to stand on their own two feet. ‘I think it’s a good thing that Epic is trying to do,’ she said. ‘Of course, the users will only see the end of, “oh, it’s another launcher, it’s another store” but Epic is trying to do something for game developers to make it better for them so we can deliver better quality of products, basically.’
Not everyone has agreed to an Epic exclusivity arrangement, for various reasons. Wlad Marhulets, the developer of Darq, said that that sort of deal ‘just wasn’t the right fit’ for the game. Bandai Namco shared similar sentiments and said that so long as Epic is seeking out exclusivity, it wouldn’t be interested in doing business on the distribution platform.
Satisfactory is on the Epic Games store in early access.
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