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Epic's platform is Unreal Engine. The key difference is Unreal Engine is not the only game engine. You can use another game engine and gain access to the exact

Epic's platform is Unreal Engine. The key difference is Unreal Engine is not the only game engine. You can use another game engine and gain access to the exact same user base. You could certainly argue Epic Games have made anti-competitive plays. However, they're not stupid, they even fund their "competitors" https://gamefromscratch.com/godot-receives-epic-megagrant/ https://gamefromscratch.com/godot-receives-epic-megagrant/.

shadowgovt 6y ago
... and the Epic Game Store. They're setting themselves up for building precedent where in the future, an MMO uses EGS for distribution and bypasses the EGS payment model, and they won't have any legal teeth to challenge that without getting hit in the face with precedent they helped set. Which may actually be the plan, as the EGS isn't the only revenue feather in their cap. If they're fine taking that hit because they get game devs twice (selling them distribution and selling them an engine their game is written in), more power to them. In theory, one can model Apple the same way (i.e. the App Store is a distribution channel to encourage people to buy Apple hardware so they can use the channel), but it sounds like maybe Apple found a great rent opportunity and is reluctant to let it go. Time for someone to remind them they're a hardware company that writes software as an excuse for people to buy their hardware. ;)
- lukeramsden 6y ago
  > They're setting themselves up for building precedent where in the future, an MMO uses EGS for distribution and bypasses the EGS payment model, and they won't have any legal teeth to challenge that without getting hit in the face with precedent they helped set That's not the same at all, there's no devices that solely run the EGS, there's nothing stopping any game studio from taking their game to Steam, Origin, GOG, or even making their own.
pythonaut_16 6y ago
The problem isn't that Apple has more of a monopoly than Epic has with Unreal Engine, it's that Apple has a monopoly on a distribution channel to end users.

shadowgovt 6y ago

... and the Epic Game Store. They're setting themselves up for building precedent where in the future, an MMO uses EGS for distribution and bypasses the EGS payment model, and they won't have any legal teeth to challenge that without getting hit in the face with precedent they helped set. Which may actually be the plan, as the EGS isn't the only revenue feather in their cap. If they're fine taking that hit because they get game devs twice (selling them distribution and selling them an engine their game is written in), more power to them. In theory, one can model Apple the same way (i.e. the App Store is a distribution channel to encourage people to buy Apple hardware so they can use the channel), but it sounds like maybe Apple found a great rent opportunity and is reluctant to let it go. Time for someone to remind them they're a hardware company that writes software as an excuse for people to buy their hardware. ;)

lukeramsden 6y ago
> They're setting themselves up for building precedent where in the future, an MMO uses EGS for distribution and bypasses the EGS payment model, and they won't have any legal teeth to challenge that without getting hit in the face with precedent they helped set That's not the same at all, there's no devices that solely run the EGS, there's nothing stopping any game studio from taking their game to Steam, Origin, GOG, or even making their own.

pythonaut_16 6y ago

The problem isn't that Apple has more of a monopoly than Epic has with Unreal Engine, it's that Apple has a monopoly on a distribution channel to end users.