Last December, the creators of Fortnite surprised everyone with the announcement of his own video game store: Epic Game Shop. Once available, the company began migrating its chips to become a serious alternative to Steam. Do they really have the potential to compete against Valve's proposal? In recent weeks they have happened important events that reinforce your product.

Ubisoft e Division 2 They turned their backs on Steam

Ubisoft has confirmed that Division 2, one of the most anticipated titles in the first half of 2019, will forget Steam to get to the Epic Games Store, in addition to Uplay. While other games like Satisfactory They have done the same thing since December, the movement of the French publishing house is the one with the greatest impact to date.

It is not a temporary exclusiveThey said they had no plans to land on Valve's service. Chris Early, vice president of partnerships at Ubisoft, acknowledged that Epic Games "continues to shake up the gaming industry," referring to the recent launch of its store. "The third-party digital distribution model is the latest example and we want to support them," he concluded.

Although most may think that Epic has just taken advantage of its current economic potential to close a distribution agreement, there are other factors that present us with a different situation. The Epic Game Shop charges a commission of 12% for each copy sold, a significant difference if we buy with Steam, which reaches 30%.

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The real goal of Ubisoft is very clear: get more profits in a brand new store. The risk of the experiment is high, since Division 2 It is a title of great importance in your fiscal year. If that happen, would be a success for the two parties involved. Ubisoft would get a bigger economic benefit, while Epic would gain popularity and prestige for its store.

We can not say that there is a blind trust, because the study of North Carolina it has earned industry respect for years. Already recognized by franchises as Unreal Tournament O Gears of war. On the other hand, the graphical engine of the Unreal Engine continues being one of the most used by the developers. Fortnite It has expanded its popularity among more audiences and multiplied revenue, allowing it to explore other types of projects.

The imminent release on Android

Mobile platforms will not be out of your strategy. The initial plan is launch the Epic Games Store on Android sometime this year. Tim Sweeney, executive director of Epic Games, said in December that he was doing everything he could to achieve his goal. His intentions remain intact and everything indicates that this will happen in the coming months.

Remember this Fortnite avoided Google Play to save the commission 30%, a movement that can not be replicated in iOS. However, they also showed interest in reaching the AppStore in 2019, but accepted that Apple's current policy would lead to some complications. The executive said that "all devices of general use, such as PCs, smartphones and tablets should be open to competition between stores." On the other hand, Valve has shown no interest in following the same path.

Mobile devices are a key territory for the company. Unreal Engine is compatible with iOS and Android, its tools can harness the technical potential of hardware to create works with great visual detail. In December they announced that cross-play services will be available free to developers, allowing your games to be enjoyed between PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch platforms.

While it's still too early to say that they will do damage to Steam, the Epic Games Store continues to build positive steps that take you along a path full of optimism. Its advantages over the competition can be decisive in a battle that has just begun. In the end, they could consolidate an ecosystem between their graphics engine, the digital store, and a library of their own games led by Fortnite.