![]() People were very mad at the time, but it's been nearly 16 years since Counter-Strike became a Steam exclusive and people seem to be over it.)Įven more games are de facto exclusives, like the Total War series, which has yet to leave Steam, or the Ultima series, which is only available through GOG. ![]() ![]() EA and Valve both sell their games exclusively through their stores, and we're hardly mad about that. It's not something I'm going to get worked up about, given that most PC digital storefronts have exclusive games. ![]() The Outer Worlds is coming to the Epic and Microsoft stores. Especially when we've already spent the last decade merely grumbling about it (and even then, I can't remember the last time I was pissed just because I had to boot up Origin). There are a lot of nuances that are worth talking about, but I just don't think arguing over exclusivity is one of them. On the other hand, Steam's monopoly on PC gaming is worrisome to me, even if it provides a lot of great infrastructure for developers to build off of. It seems silly to be mad at a company for using its capital to expand its business. I get that Epic is a lackluster storefront that has a long way to go, and them stealing games like Metro Exodus at the last second is a little gross, but also that's capitalism at work. If we didn't, I wouldn't need the Windows Store to play Forza Horizon 4, Origin to play Battlefield 5, GOG to play some of my favorite retro games, the Epic Store to play Fortnite, to play WoW-the list just goes on and on. Steven Messner: Exclusives are already everywhereĪs others pointed out, we already live in a world full of exclusive PC games. The largest publishers already have their own storefronts, and I've begrudgingly purchased games on every digital distribution platform, including the Windows Store. A particular game could be hurt or helped by an exclusive, especially a paid exclusive, but as long as a game is available for PC, the storefront doesn't really matter to me. But store exclusives just feel like part of the 2019 PC gaming market. Is anyone going to say store exclusives are truly harmful to end users? Inconvenient, sure, and I suppose every additional app we have to install is a potential security hole. But what is the experience of buying that doing for you that Steam isn't? I think that is a question worth asking. An Epic exclusive is there to tempt you into using that store. I will say this, though: I don't see how they're good for players. I'm not adverse to having more launchers on my taskbar, and this is not a new phenomenon, when you consider Ubisoft and EA's requirements that you use their platforms (even if you could buy Ubisoft games on Steam too until The Division 2). I even speculate if Epic's approach has allowed previously console-only games to make the leap to PC, as is the case with the Quantic Dream games and Journey coming to PC. I don't actively think they're bad, nor does the idea of them keep me up at night. Our answers are below, and feel free to add yours in the comments (while sticking to our commenting rules). But is Epic's strategy more than just an inconvenience? Is it actually detrimental to PC gaming as a whole? That's the topic of our mid-week PCG Q&A.
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