2019-03-01_PC_Gamer___40_US_Edition

ABOVE: For most,
the de facto
homepage of
PC gaming.

a problem, because Steam forums are often a source for

fixes to technical issues. “Users have generally migrated to

Reddit, Discord, Twitter and other social media,” says

Sweeney. “Developers are free to run their own forums

and link them from their Epic Games Store page.”

SPLIT PERSONALITY

Steam’s changes to its revenue split were controversial,

with many seeing the percentage cut offered to games

selling over $10m or $50m as favoring top-selling games.

So it’s likely some will jump ship to the Epic Games Store,

or even to Discord, which has announced that developers

will receive a 90% share of revenue of sales from its store.

If either manages to secure some good exclusives, they

could become a nice alternative to Steam.

“We believe that game developers are responsible for

the games industry’s enormous growth and vibrance, and

should earn the lion’s share of industry revenue,” says

Sweeney. “Companies providing supporting services such

as engines, stores, platforms and payment processors are

just here to help, and should be priced accordingly.” It’s

early days for the Epic Games Store, and it’ll be interesting

to see how it’s received in the long term—and whether

Valve will make any changes to try and compete with it.

Andy Kelly

Highs & Lows

HIGHS

The Outer Worlds

Obsidian is making a new sci-fi RPG

and it’s exciting news. Even if it’s just

Alpha Protocol in space, we’ll take it.

Journey

This beloved, and formerly

PlayStation exclusive, exploration

game is finally making its way to PC.

Epic Games Store

Steam’s monopoly on PC gaming

hasn’t been seriously challenged

since, well, forever.

Alien: Blackout

In a post-Alien: Isolation world, the

words ‘shooter’ and ‘action-packed’

are slightly worrying.

Battlefield V

DICE had to roll back its new TTK

values after player backlash.

Fallout 76

Bethesda shipping a cheap nylon

bag with its $200 special edition,

rather than the promised canvas

one, did 76 ’s reputation no favors.

LOWS

EA’s short TGA teaser is
definitely for Dragon Age,
and the appearance of the
Dread Wolf Fen’Harel teases
a continuation of the end of Inquisition.
Beyond that, we know nothing. PS

TAKING AN AGE

DRAGON AGE

VOCAL BOARD

ARTIFACT

Described as a ‘Hello Games

short’, it’s great to see

something experimental. It’s

about an ember trying to find

its way back to a campfire, apparently

influenced by Journey. AK

FIRED UP

NEW HELLO GAME

Valve’s chat system for

Artifact has arrived.

While it has the option to

type your own pleasantries,

you can use the character’s voice lines

to communicate. PW