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Epic Games has expanded its business by opening a new publishing arm, Epic Games Publishing.
Breaking the news, Epic described the endeavour as “a new multiplatform publishing effort with a developer-first approach” and confirmed it has already established partnerships with a number of high-profile developers, including The Last Guardian studio genDesign, Inside and Limbo developer Playdead, and Remedy Entertainment, which recently released Control.
More development partners and games “will be announced in the coming months”.
Stating its approach “fundamentally changes the developer/publisher model”, Epic purports to have “the most developer-friendly terms in the industry, so that creators can focus on making great games”.
Deals include “full creative freedom and ownership”, with developers retaining 100 per cent of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work, “fully-funded projects” which see Epic Games Publishing cover up to 100 per cent of development costs, including developer salaries and “go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs”, and a “50/50” profit share after costs have been recouped.
“We’re building the publishing model we always wanted for ourselves when we worked with publishers,” said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games.
“genDesign, Remedy, and Playdead are among the most innovative and talented studios in the industry, with strong visions for their next games,” said Hector Sanchez, Head of Epic Games Publishing. “They will have full creative control, while Epic will provide a solid foundation of project funding and services.”
Epic Games recently acquired automated facial animation company, Cubic Motion and photogrammetry asset library Megascans, Quixel. Epic also acquired real-time 3D architectural software, Twinmotion, last May.
