Epic Games Store still hasn't managed to turn a profit since its launch
This comes from Epic Games' antitrust suit against Google.
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The Epic Games Store first launched back in December of 2018, but as confirmed in a new court case between Epic and Google, the game developer and publisher said the storefront is still unprofitable.
Back in 2020, Epic introduced an update to Fortnite which meant that players that bought V-Bucks directly from its storefront as opposed to the Apple or Google Storefronts would get a 20% discount. You might remember that this led to a court case between Epic and Apple over the situation, as obviously both wanted to continue to make more money. Well, it's happening again, only this time an antitrust case from Epic against Google. And interestingly, in this particular court case, Epic Games Store general manager Steve Allison has apparently said the storefront isn't actually profitable currently.
According to The Verge, Allison said as such on the witness stand, explaining that while the storefront isn't profitable, the current goal is still growth. As noted by The Verge, during the trial against Apple, Epic actually noted it believed it could claim half of all PC gaming revenue, so clearly those growth goals are quite ambitious ones.
While the Epic Games Store may not be profitable just yet, it's clearly interested in getting more developers to join it. Back in August, Epic announced a new scheme where developers that let their games be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for the first six months of their release will get a 100% revenue share. There are some stipulations there, the biggest being that the games in question must not have been released on another third-party PC store. But it's clearly a big bid to get more developers to release their games on the Epic Games Store in the first place.
Epic announced a similar scheme last month which gives developers the same revenue share across six months, but for developer's older titles, under the "Now on Epic" banner.
Back in September, it was announced that Epic Games would be laying off around 900 of its employees, a move that saw a reduction of 16% of its workforce.