Shenmue 3 is now an Epic Games Store Exclusive
Shenmue 3 is now an Epic Games Store Exclusive
Shenmue 3 was created using the Unreal Engine 4, making Shenmue 3 an ideal candidate for Epic Games Store exclusivity, as the Epic Games Store offers developers a higher revenue share than Steam and also allows developers to sell their games without getting hit by the engine’s 5% royalty fees.Â
Steam’s basic revenue share rate is 70% for developers and 30% for Steam, whereas Epic’s basic rate is 88% for developers and 12% for Epic Games. This, in addition to Epic Games removing their 5% Unreal Engine Royalty fee, gives Deep Silver an extra 23% cut from Shenmue 3’s PC sales revenues. It is also probable that Epic Games gave Deep Silver other incentives to secure platform exclusivity for the game.Â
Deep Silver, the publisher of Shenmue 3, has made exclusivity agreements with the Epic Games Store before, choosing to launch 4A Games’ Metro Exodus as an Epic Games Store exclusive at launch. At this time it is unknown whether or not Shenmue 3 will be a timed or permanent Epic Games Store exclusive, though the game’s Steam Store page is still live, at least at the time of writing.Â
Below is a comment from Shenmue 3’s Kickstarter page regarding the change to Epic Games Store exclusivity.
  We are happy to announce that Shenmue III for PC will be will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. Development for Shenmue III has been moving forward using Unreal Engine and the support we have received from Epic has been excellent. But most importantly, in looking for the most enjoyable experience on PC, it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option. Â
You can join the discussion on Shenmue 3 becoming an Epic Games Store exclusive on the OC3D Forums.Â