Epic Games Store exclusivity has been a source of controversy and disdain within the gaming community for the better part of 2019. The Fortnite developer often takes large steps to benefit from exclusivity, including a recent example where Epic Games paid nearly 10 million euros for exclusivity of Control.
Control has generally been a warmly-received title with some elements of criticism toward its plot and character progression. Like many other mainstream titles, including Borderlands 3, Control became an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC. Apparently, this was due to a deal arranged between Epic Games and Control publisher 505 Games.
Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners, posted a tweet regarding the deal. He cited that a recent report from 505 Games parent company Digital Bros disclosed that they received 9.49 million euros for Epic Store exclusivity of Control.
This is likely due to the exclusivity deal, as Ahmad points out, citing that 55% of the payment is "going to 505 Games."
The report itself is in Italian, but, in translation, it states a few things of note including that the "revenues deriving from the personal computer version of the video game Control were significant." It also states that "the contractual structure with the marketplace company that required the exclusivity of the video game of the personal computer version has allowed the recognition of revenues already starting from this exercise." Essentially, Digital Bros is remarking at the profits from the PC version of Control and that Epic Games, the company requiring exclusivity, is now sharing their profits with Digital Bros and 505 Games while letting it be made known publicly.
On the publisher's part, 505 Games appears to have a mostly positive view of its business dealings with Epic Games. They seem to be impressed by the revenue, which could be could mean that publishers like 505 Games may continue to make similar deals in the future.
Despite the success many developers and publishers seem to be having with Epic, EGS exclusivity has nonetheless been a serious concern for folks who are content with their Steam accounts and are frustrated over the idea of exclusivity of digital store platforms. From a publisher's standpoint however, increased profits means they are able to make higher quality games, something everyone can agree on.
It will be interesting to see how Valve responds to companies' positive reception to Epic Games Store exclusivity.