If Epic Games is known for one thing, it is probably for the free games that are always available. One developer has now stated that more sales are being generated on Steam since his game was given away.
While Steam often discounts thousands of games at once during its big sales, enticing fans to purchase a game or two, Epic Games, on the other hand, is known for its free games that are made available every week to new players.
A developer who has given away his game on Epic Games is CEO Dave Oshry. He owns the title “Blood West,” which was recently available for free on Epic Games, but by giving away his game, he also saw an increase in sales.
More Sales through Giveaways
Why did he sell more? If a game is available for free somewhere, one would think that it would sell worse overall. After all, who would pay for something that is free? But the opposite has happened with “Blood West”.
While the game was free on the Epic Game Store, sales on Steam surged. The CEO stated on X.com: “Blood West was available for free on EGS during the holidays and sold 200% better than usual on that day XD.”
He further shows a statistic in a reply post indicating that sales rise during the free promotion and then drop again. Several users describe why this is the case on X.com
Who buys a free game? With the free promotion on the Epic Games Store, there is also free advertising for the respective game. Many sites share the offer, and the name circulates more. However, there are also players who apparently do not like the Epic Games Launcher.
As X user @azure1444 explains: “I don’t want to badmouth Epic, but their launcher is absolutely horrible. If it didn’t take years to update a game like Fortnite, even with a good internet connection, I would consider giving it another chance.”
Other players in the comments also explain that they simply cannot stand the Epic Games Launcher and would rather buy the games on Steam than play them for free there.
At the same time, one should not believe that the Epic Games Launcher and its promotions are unpopular. The 200% increase in sales of Blood West is likely easier to achieve for a game from 2023 that normally costs €24.99 on Steam with a player peak of nearly 1,000 players than for an AAA title.
New figures show (via Yahoo) that the platform has grown by 173%, but sales on third-party platforms have only grown by 1.6%. These figures can almost exclusively be attributed to the significant success of the free promotions.
Whether Epic Games or Steam, both platforms offer their advantages. Epic Games has given away countless games for their launcher. An investment that has likely paid off: Major competitor of Steam lures players with free games for years, has trained them perfectly: “I’ve set up an alarm“
