Epic boss Tim Sweeney was once angry about the commission fees Valve collected from game developers on Steam.
Valve’s antitrust lawsuit against Epic has just made public an email written by Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, that harshly criticizes Valve executives. According to VGC, the email was sent in 2018, before the launch of the Epic Games Store, and Sweeney calls Valve executives ‘idiots’ over their platform fees policy. This email sheds new light on the ongoing legal battle between the two gaming giants and could have significant implications for the future of the video game industry.
Steam, the world’s biggest PC game distribution platform, has been taking a 30% cut from game sales profits. Valve, the company behind Steam, introduced a revenue-sharing system in October 2018 that provides higher percentages to developers who reach certain revenue thresholds. However, this move has not been enough to satisfy Epic’s CEO, who seems to be unhappy with the situation.
In an email addressed to Valve CEO Gabe Newell and Erik Johnson, one of the company’s business development directors, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney criticized Valve’s policy of charging up to 30% revenue sharing fees to smaller developers. Sweeney argued that by doing so, Valve perpetuates the notion that the powerful are entitled to special treatment while weaker ones are being unfairly burdened.
It is worth noting that Epic Games Store provides developers with a more appealing revenue share than Valve’s Steam. The former offers an 88% share to developers, while the latter offers a 70% share. This information came to light during an antitrust lawsuit investigation filed by developer Wolfire against Valve. It is a controversial topic that industry insiders and gamers alike have debated.
Epic and Apple then entered into a long-running antitrust legal battle after Epic tried to bypass Apple’s 30% commission fee by adding a new direct payment option to the hit game Fortnite. This resulted in Fortnite being removed from the App Store and Epic’s developer account being locked.