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Edited December 13, 2023
at 04:08 AM
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Epic Games Store
For those interested
Note, ~pricing may be tentative and may change without notice until offer is live.
Sale will start December 13 and last through January 10, 2024, 11AM ET
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Might have to grab that Cyberpunk bundle though… and MK1.
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When I'm in my living room using the TV away from my PC I use Moonlight Streaming Client and from my PC: Playnite + Sunshine game stream host + IddSampleDriver (Virtual Monitor) .
It's a bit of work and learning curve to set up for Xbox, Android TV, or Apple TV - but imho it works and it's been fantastic.
You got to watch out if the PC version supports your controller - like Frostpunk PC currently does not, you'll need to have some mapping software to your controller for that.
Apps loading apps just to get proper dualsense controller functions is silly tho. Epic games is such a large company, it makes no sense they haven't done it yet.
Might have to grab that Cyberpunk bundle though… and MK1.
While I am in total agreement with you, there is absolutely zero chance of that ever happening, unless Microsoft buys Valve and Epic Games. Interestingly, Microsoft buying Epic is not farfetched. Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic owns over 50 percent of the company, which is private, while Tencent, a Chinese software company, owns about 40 percent. I'm sure Microsoft has spoken with Epic about an acquisition, but I don't think Sweeney has any interest.
On the Valve side, they have no compelling reason to sell. They're making a fortune, and answer to no one. Why would they want to give that up? Gabe Newell, co-founder and CEO of Valve, also private, has all the money he will ever need, and it's unlikely he would sell.
On the Valve side, they have no compelling reason to sell. They're making a fortune, and answer to no one. Why would they want to give that up? Gabe Newell, co-founder and CEO of Valve, also private, has all the money he will ever need, and it's unlikely he would sell.
I don't think either would sell unless they got absolutely sick of it, though. They've both been running these companies a long time and obviously plan to continue. (Sweeney has been running Epic since 1991 and Gabe has been running Valve since 1996.)
The stupid thing about all these services is that they're just one bad ownership away from everyone having a bad time, though. There's nothing stopping from a hypothetical scenario where a VC firm buys either Steam or EGS and then says, "Alright, guys, you gotta pay $9.99/month to keep accessing the games you've already bought."
I'm fact, I feel like that's the inevitable outcome, eventually. These stores are charging a one time fee for lifetime access to games. That's not a model that works forever. It's like selling a one time fee for lifetime VPN access. It works as long as they can keep bringing in new customers or upselling existing customers, but eventually they might not have a revenue stream that covers the cost to run the service. At that point, they've gotta shutdown or start charging for access.
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I don't think either would sell unless they got absolutely sick of it, though. They've both been running these companies a long time and obviously plan to continue. (Sweeney has been running Epic since 1991 and Gabe has been running Valve since 1996.)
The stupid thing about all these services is that they're just one bad ownership away from everyone having a bad time, though. There's nothing stopping from a hypothetical scenario where a VC firm buys either Steam or EGS and then says, "Alright, guys, you gotta pay $9.99/month to keep accessing the games you've already bought."
I'm fact, I feel like that's the inevitable outcome, eventually. These stores are charging a one time fee for lifetime access to games. That's not a model that works forever. It's like selling a one time fee for lifetime VPN access. It works as long as they can keep bringing in new customers or upselling existing customers, but eventually they might not have a revenue stream that covers the cost to run the service. At that point, they've gotta shutdown or start charging for access.
Valve is making a ton of money, as they get a healthy cut of every transaction. There is no reason for Valve to need to charge its customers for access, as long as management remains the same.
Epic is a bit different. Of course, they have a tremendous income from their Unreal Engine. However, they do not seem to be making a dent in the same market as Valve. They should stop giving games away, at least at the rate they currently are. But I don't see how they can grow the platform in the immediate future. But I think it's always been a long-term play.
Yes, VCs could potentially buy either of these companies, but I don't think that is likely. Microsoft, Intel, and possibly Apple would more likely be the prime buyers. As Valve is privately owned, I don't think there would be much regulatory issues.
The bottom line is that anything can happen at any time with either company. And as both are private, we don't have any significant insight to their financials or plans other than what share voluntarily.
I don't think Gabe is going anywhere. He can continue to oversee Valve and not be directly involved with every decision for many years to come. I think Sweeney wants to build Epic much more before he sells it.
I'm sure GOG will give it away for free in 2077 if you can wait until then
Just bought both right now, so cheap for such highly rated games
Expires soon!
Expires soon!
Edit: Expires 1/10/24 at 11am for anyone wondering
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The thing about paying this much for a game is you really should only buy it if you're going to play it right away.