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Epic: We'll End PC Game Exclusives If Steam Gives Better Revenue Cut

"If Steam committed to a permanent 88 percent revenue share for all developers and publishers without major strings attached, Epic would hastily organize a retreat from exclusives," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote in a tweet.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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The Epic Games Store's controversial strategy of securing exclusive deals for PC games will swiftly end —but only if Steam commits to an 88 percent revenue share for developers, said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.

On Wednesday, Sweeney dangled the proposal in a tweet thread sent amid the company's ongoing competition with Valve's Steam platform for distribution of the PC games market. To pull customers to the Epic Games Store, the company has been striking exclusivity deals for titles such as Metro Exodus and the upcoming Borderlands 3, but at the expense of gamers who'd prefer to play them on Steam.

However, Sweeney said the exclusivity practices would stop if Steam overhauled its business model. "If Steam committed to a permanent 88 percent revenue share for all developers and publishers without major strings attached, Epic would hastily organize a retreat from exclusives," he said in a tweet.

Unlike Steam, which largely offers a 70/30 revenue split to developers, the Epic Games Store has been offering a more lucrative 88/12 split, giving PC game makers more incentive to expand to the platform. Steam's 70/30 split is also why Epic Games never brought its own Fortnite game over to the store. But that could change if Steam committed to the 88 revenue share, Sweeney said.

"Such a move would be a glorious moment in the history of PC gaming, and would have a sweeping impact on other platforms for generations to come," he said in a separate tweet.

So far, Valve hasn't commented on Sweeney's proposal. But it's doubtful the company will change its business model over a few tweets. Sweeney also offered caveats with his proposal, which essentially calls for open platforms that are free to interoperate with each other.

In the meantime, expect the Epic Games Store to continue to strike exclusivity deals. Last month, Ubisoft announced it would pull the strategy title Anno 1800 from Steam after April 16th and instead offer it solely on the Epic Games Store.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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