During the ongoing legal battle between Apple andEpic Games, Epic reveals how much it paid out to developers and publishers to offer free games between December 2018 and September 2019. A new document shows the exact price Epic paid to list dozens of titles ranging from triple-As to indies.
Every week, the Epic Games Store gives away at least one free game. Currently, free games release each Thursday at 11:00 a.m. E.T., sometimes adding two or three additional free titles to the list. With fierce competition like Valve’s online storefront Steam, this is one way forEpic Gamesto attract consumers, but not without a hefty price as revealed during the Epic v. Apple lawsuit that could potentially last years. In 2019, Epic gave away 73 free games in total, but a legal document reveals the price Epic paid to feature 38 of them on its store in the first nine months of 2019.
RELATED:Epic Games Has Lost Hundreds of Millions on Its Game Store
This legal document was “accidentally published early” according to Simon Carless, a gaming historian who has been reporting on the lawsuit and posted the list of games to Twitter. The games during this nine-month period includes indie titles such asSlime RancherandOxenfree,as well as more commercially successful titles such as theBatman: Arkhamseries andSubnautica. For the latter games, Epic paid out $1.5 million and $1.4 million respectively, with theBatman: Arkhamgamesbeing the highest price.
In total, for the list of games that is mostly comprised of indies, Epic paid over $11.5 million. Consequently,Subnauticabrought in 613,912 new Epic users andBatmanbrought in 804,052, according to the document. However, many Twitter commenters are concerned about the price that Epic paid out to small indie developers, feeling they may have been low-balled for the sake of exposure.
One column shows thatMetro: 2033 Reduxcost Epic Games $0, but some theorize this could be due to the one-year exclusivity deal made in 2019. Other details were revealed duringthe first day of Epic v. Applein court, such as the fact thatFornitemade Epic Games over $9 billion in 2019 alone, as well as revealing thatMetroid’s Samus and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson could getFortniteskins in the future.
Thelegal battle between Epic Games and Applebegan when Apple tookForniteoff of the App Store in a response to Epic’s attempt to bypass Apple’s payment process by offering discounts to users that chose to purchase directly throughEpic Games. Apple was taking 30 percent of the commission from purchases, and by kickingForniteoff its store and intentionally keeping iPhone users from the game, the courts will determine if Apple is using its power to manipulate consumers.
MORE:Why Apple and Epic Games' Legal Dispute is Happening Inside a Court Room
