Epic goes on the hunt for even more exclusives with a new program offering bigger payouts to smaller studios

Epic Games Store First Run program
(Image credit: Epic Games)

If you thought the era of the Epic Games Store exclusive was winding down, think again. Epic announced today a new program called Epic First Run that throws open the exclusivity doors to just about anyone with a new game.

The Epic Games Store has grown into a successful, major digital storefront since its launch in 2018 in large part due to exclusive game releases: Epic has used the massive financial success of Fortnite to pay publishers in advance to launch games on its storefront, and more to the point, not launch them on Steam, at least temporarily.

It's managed to attract some big names over the years, like Borderlands 3, Control, Hitman 3, and Kingdom Hearts, but it's been a ridiculously expensive endeavor, too: We learned in May 2021 that it had already spent more than $1 billion on exclusives. Despite not making money on them, Epic said in March 2023 that it was going to continue pursuing exclusives for its storefront, but would focus more on major releases, which had proven much more effective at attracting new users to EGS than smaller games.

The new Epic First Run program is a way to augment that strategy by bringing smaller studios back into the picture. Instead of negotiating up-front deals with developers and publishers for individual games, First Run grants them 100% of all net revenues earned during the first six months of a game's release on the Epic store in exchange for those six months being mostly exclusive. It's open to any developer or publisher with a game coming out on or after October 16 (when the program goes live) that hasn't previously been released through another third-party storefront or subscription service.

It's "mostly" exclusive because developers taking part in the First Run program can still offer their games for sale directly to gamers through their own storefront or website. They can also sell them through other third-party storefronts during the exclusivity period as long as they use Epic's "keyless distribution system" to do so. Digital storefronts that make use of that system (and can thus offer games for sale during their Epic exclusivity period) include GOG, Humble, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, Genba, Nuuvem, and Exertis Ztorm—in other words, pretty much everyone except, well, you know.

An Epic rep confirmed that there's no hidden cap on the revenues earned during the six-month launch period: All net revenues, regardless of the amount, go to the developer and publisher. Once the six-month exclusivity period has expired, games will revert to Epic's standard revenue share of 88% for studios, 12% for Epic.

The rep also said that this program is "additive" to its existing exclusives programs, which will continue as Epic said it would in March, with individual deals for major releases like Assassin's Creed Mirage. What this does, then, is enable Epic to continue spending more strategically on major exclusives while opening the door to smaller games that might otherwise not be eligible for exclusivity, and the bonus payday it offers. The First Run program includes early access releases, so games can spend their entire exclusivity period in a pre-release state, and then launch into full release everywhere, including Steam.

Epic exclusives have been contentious right from the start: The early days of the program included moves like the last-minute scoop of Metro Exodus, which left a bad taste, and while the severity of some of the reactions never made a whole lot of sense to me—it's literally just a different website—an awful lot of gamers just don't like the idea of buying games from stores other than Steam. The vitriol is not as furious today as it once was, but as you can see in a few of the responses to the announcement on Twitter, a level of unhappiness over Epic exclusives persists in some quarters. Despite that, it's more clear than ever that Epic has no intention of easing up, and that instead of fewer Epic Games Store exclusives in the future, we're much more likely to be seeing more.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
Epic Games logo behind the Epic Games Store
Epic gave away nearly 600 million games in 2024, and it's 'not slowing down' for 2025
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, looks at the camera.
Tim Sweeney says Epic is losing billions fighting Apple and Google because it can afford to, jokes that 'we might run into serious financial problems after a couple more decades'
Valve soldier man on a pc.
2024 was Steam's 'best year ever' of users buying newly released games—but I wouldn't celebrate the end of the forever game era just yet
ANKARA, TURKIYE - JANUARY 02: In this photo illustration, Steam logo is being displayed in Ankara, Turkiye on January 02, 2024. (Photo by Dilara Irem Sancar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Valve expands Steam's Daily Deals program from 4 games to 6, also explains what Steam's Daily Deals program is
Money money money.
Valve tracked 1.7 million Steam users who joined in 2023 to see if they stuck around—they did, and they spent $93 million
World of Goo 2 a giant octopus-worm spits out a structure of goo upon which other goo is flowing.
After launching as an Epic Store exclusive, World of Goo 2 dribbles onto Steam this spring: 'We’re grateful to Epic for funding development of the game'
Latest in Gaming Industry
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year
A still from a video announcement of Game Informer's return, featuring the magazine's Halo 2 issue.
Game Informer is back from the dead: 'The whole team has returned'
Typing on internet search toolbar: What am I doing?
How a Microsoft exec managed to pitch Microsoft Word through the genius tactic of being able to actually use it in a 'type-off' demanded by clients: 'I was the only one who'd actually been a secretary'
Half-Life wallpaper - Gordon Freeman
Former Valve exec says the company struggled to sell Half-Life until coming up with the ultimate 'one simple trick' of marketing manoeuvres: slapping a 'Game of the Year' sticker on the box
Gabe Newell looks into the camera, behind him is a prop of a turret from Team Fortress 2.
Gabe Newell's cult of personality is intense, but a Valve exec who worked with him says his superpower is how he 'delighted in people on the team just being really good at what they did'
The Spy from Team Fortress 2 holds up a folder with an accusatory expression.
One of Valve's original executives shares a very simple secret to its success: 'You can't use up your credibility' by trying to make bad games work
Latest in News
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event