Game News The Outer Worlds to launch on the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store, only coming to Steam in 2020

[Infinitron]

Tags: Obsidian Entertainment; The Outer Worlds

Despite enjoying an extremely positive debut and having the marketing muscle of not one but two major publishers in its corner, the powers that be have apparently decided that The Outer Worlds must make moar money. At their GDC keynote today, Epic Games announced that The Outer Worlds will be launching on the Epic Games Store, which offers an an advantageous revenue share. It won't come out on Steam until a year afterwards. The game is not quite an Epic-exclusive however, since it's also launching on Microsoft's own Microsoft Store platform, and on consoles of course. There's no fancy trailer or press release for this announcement, just this tweet:

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As you can see from the replies, many people are upset about this. Patrice Desilets' Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, another Private Division title, was also announced as an Epic-exclusive at the keynote, so it appears to be a publisher decision. If you're an Epic-hater at least you've got the Microsoft Store option, although that means dealing with UWP or whatever it's called.

 

[Kitchen Utensil]

Who cares, game will be shit anyways.

 

[Fenix]

I think I'll maybe play it someday... someday..

 

[Arulan]

Delayed to 2020? Okay.

 

[Agame]

Someone please give me a :meh:

 

[markec]

Called it.

 

[Shilandra]

This is so sad.

Why do they keep doing this? I was really looking forward to this game.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Not that I'm suggesting anything, but since we are setting for less than optimal options when it comes to clients, I've noticed that Utorrent seems to be slightly ahead of EGS when it comes to features and convenience.
Makes you think.

 

[sser]

I'm kinda curious to see what effect this has on discounts. Cause currently it's like a straight line from release to Steam sales to key resellers undercutting each other to the Humble Bundle at some point. But if you have a staggered release where it's gated behind Epic's platform, then release it again to a wider audience, would the discounts patient folks have gotten used to get pushed back?

 

[Infinitron]

I'm kinda curious to see what effect this has on discounts. Cause currently it's like a straight line from release to Steam sales to key resellers undercutting each other to the Humble Bundle at some point. But if you have a staggered release where it's gated behind Epic's platform, then release it again to a wider audience, would the discounts patient folks have gotten used to get pushed back?

You can already see some real-life examples of this with former Microsoft Store-exclusives such as Quantum Break.

 

[Rinslin Merwind]

Fuck, I should quickly write something clever, before thread goes into over9000 pages.
*intense thinking*.....
.....
......
Ah here it is: I guess devs just taken EPIC shit on their sales and reputation, AmIrighte?
....
It's almost 2 AM, I probably should go to sleep.

 

[Shilandra]

I'm kinda curious to see what effect this has on discounts. Cause currently it's like a straight line from release to Steam sales to key resellers undercutting each other to the Humble Bundle at some point. But if you have a staggered release where it's gated behind Epic's platform, then release it again to a wider audience, would the discounts patient folks have gotten used to get pushed back?

You can already see some real-life examples of this with Microsoft Store-exclusives such as Quantum Break.

Is this game even being released to a wider audience?

Reading the tweet again it looks like literally everyone BUT gog and steam are getting it on time. It not even like theyre limiting it to just the epic launcher and no one else for a year.

That doesnt even make sense to me. Why would they sign onto what looks like just an anti steam contract?

 

[FreeKaner]

 

[Ruzen]

I wonder if Epic store put these "exclusive" games 50-75% sale exactly 12 months after release?

Just when we though PC master race is saved with a good system now we have to rewind our clocks backward just because daddy Epic puts his cock in these developers?

 

[DavidBVal]

I like the fact Valve is finally being tested, but restricting access is a mistake.

 

[hpstg]

Whoever sticks with Steam, will most likely get the better version of the game, with dlc and patches at the end.

The best purchase will most likely be via the Microsoft store, if they enable it to give you the game for both the pc and the Xbox.

Also torrenting is peasantry, direct downloads os where it's at, if you want to pirate a AA game because its developers wanted a bit more of a cut when they whored out their own work.

 

[cosmicray]

Ha-ha. The game I was most interested in goes exclusive on the store I was most critical about. Damn.

 

[Don Peste]

Well guys, you don't sound like you want to be owners anymore...

Spoiler

Man, that never gets old

 

[hpstg]

It seems like it was done by Take Two (who is still the publisher) , and people in Obsidian learned about it the day it happened.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/b3etm4/_/eiz5jzk


If true, I feel sorry for them.

 

[LootSeeker]

Wow another game trips and falls into a gaping butthole. Thankfully not deep enough to take more than a year to get out. The Epic Game Store is nothing more than an Epic Waiting List. But it's also available in the MS store and console? No thanks.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Gonna be an MS Store exclusive, for sure.

I feel like their "special announcement" is going to be Epic store exclusivity.

Scenes when this game is exclusive to Epic Store

On August 1st it will become Epic store exclusive.

inb4 Epic Store Exclusive

inb4 Windows Store Exclusive

 

[cosmicray]

Month ago:

In an earnings conference call this morning, in reference to if Take-Two is considering digitally distributing its games on the Epic Games Store exclusively for higher profit margins, Zelnick said "Our approach is to be wherever the consumer is and we distribute very widely. Generally speaking, we have not been a believer in exclusive relationships, and I wouldn’t comment on any particular store."

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/0...ot-been-a-believer-in-exclusive-relationships

 

[Agame]

Month ago:

In an earnings conference call this morning, in reference to if Take-Two is considering digitally distributing its games on the Epic Games Store exclusively for higher profit margins, Zelnick said "Our approach is to be wherever the consumer is and we distribute very widely. Generally speaking, we have not been a believer in exclusive relationships, and I wouldn’t comment on any particular store."

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/0...ot-been-a-believer-in-exclusive-relationships

And then those sweet chinese monies began showering down unto them.

 

[BEvers]

They probably felt that their Private Division lineup could be sacrificed for an experiment.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Can't wait when all epic exclusive games fail because people won't go to the new store. When those games reach Steam year after release the hype will be long over.

However I want Tim and Leonard to succeed.

The dilemma.