Epic Games recently joined the digital distribution platform arms race with the promise to be a haven for budding video game studios and publishers. With rates favoring video game creators in comparison to its primary competitor, Steam, the Epic Games Store looks ready to take on the digital distribution giant.
But what exactly can gamers expect from the “Fortnite” developer’s ambitious new direction? Is there anything worth looking forward to on the Epic Games Store library? Below are a few upcoming titles that have bet on the success of Epic Games’ new digital distribution platform.
The Walking Dead Final Season
There was a time when Telltale Games’ storytelling-focused experiences were the most popular games on any console, but with the studio’s closure last year, the future of its serialized games for the “The Walking Dead” franchise was in limbo. Thankfully, Telltale Games’ swan song gets to see the light of day with the help of Skybound Games and the Epic Games Store for any fan hoping to play the conclusion to the “The Walking Dead” storytelling series.
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
Double Damage’s original “Rebel Galaxy” was an amazing game considering that the studio initially carried its development on the back of only two people. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw” promises even more wild dogfights set in a massive western sci-fi sandbox with improved graphics and features that fans of the original game – and space dogfighting games, in general – will enjoy.
Genesis Alpha One
Radiation Blue, with Team 17 – the studio behind the “Worms” series – handling the publishing details, has an ambitious project with their first-person shooting, ship-building roguelike. “Genesis Alpha One” promises that gamers will save humanity from extinction through a randomly generated universe using a team that they can manage from a first-person perspective. “Genesis Alpha One” is now available for pre-purchase and will officially be released on Jan. 29.
Maneater
The studio behind the “Killing Floor” franchise wants to take the popular shark attack-themed genre that has been popular with mobile gamers and scale up the quality for serious hardware. Tripwire Interactive’s “Maneater” looks to be as violent and gory as the studio’s most popular franchise while moving away from their usual first-person shooter niche.
Journey
“Journey” was a massive hit when it was first released on Sony’s PlayStation 3 in 2012, and subsequently on the PlayStation 4 a few years down the road. Unfortunately for a lot of gamers, the game has been exclusive to the PlayStation console during most of its lifetime. With the help of the Epic Games Store, Thatgamecompany’s masterpiece is finally getting a PC port sometime in 2019. Xbox owners still don’t get to run the game, though.
While the Epic Games Store may not have a lot of titles on its library at the moment – with “Unreal Tournament” and “Fortnite” being the closest games to eSports that their platform currently caters to – the quality of their upcoming titles is definitely a good sign. Talented game developers and publishers are looking to trust Epic Games’ word that their new platform won’t be as restrictive as the competition now that digital distribution has a new player.
