If you’ve been curious as to exactly how much money Epic throws at companies for exclusivity rights, then wonder no longer. An earnings report first spotted by analyst Daniel Ahmad shows that Digital Bros, the parent company of Control publisher 505 Games, received a payment of 9.49 million euros (roughly $10.45 million USD) from Epic Games to make Control an Epic Games Store exclusive.
The report states that Control brought in $10.45 million USD in revenue on June 30, which is strange considering the game launched on August 27, two months later. Later in the report, a platform-by-platform breakdown reveals that Epic Games was the party responsible for the $10.45 million in revenue, meaning that the payment was most likely a part of the exclusivity deal. Control developer Remedy has gone on record saying that the budget for Control is anywhere from 20 to 30 million euros, so the payment from Epic (9.49 million euros) covers a significant chunk of the game’s total budget.
Digital Bros, parent company of 505 Games, has disclosed that they received a payment of 9.49 million euro from Epic Games for Control.
Which I would imagine is for exclusivity.
55% of that payment going to 505 Games.
Report here: https://t.co/ocmbIQeOfJ
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 20, 2019
The funds provide an interesting insight into Epic’s exclusivity offerings, but nothing regarding the actual terms of the agreement are detailed in the report outside of the initial payment. We don’t necessarily know if this payment represents prospective future sales being offered up front or if there are any other strings attached to the agreement. There could also be a longer-term plan for both parties going on behind the scenes that we simply don’t know about. Both Remedy and Epic have been pretty tight-lipped regarding the exclusivity agreement, as have most companies who have taken the deal, but now we at least have some understanding of what’s going on behind the curtain when it comes to the Epic Games Store and its exclusive games.
We here at The Outerhaven loved Control, and we dedicated a significant portion of a Spectator Mode Podcast episode gushing over it. Control is also set to get some pretty interesting DLC, including an expansion that may crossover with one of Remedy’s older games, Alan Wake. For the moment, Control is available exclusively on the Epic Games Store on PC, but it’s coming to Steam next August.
