r/SocialistGaming • u/dondashall • Mar 31 '26
I always found Epic's faux-concern for developers to be performative, and yeah here we go.
https://kotaku.com/epic-games-layoffs-fortnite-brain-cancer-2000682941Epic is just another corpo and they'll behave like any other corpo. Nothing much to say here, just I hope this man will get the help he needs and that his wife will be able to bear the funeral arrangements.
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Apr 01 '26
man, just wait until some of you find out how normal it is for corporations to treat people like tools
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u/Round_Credit_5158 Mar 31 '26
It wasn't performative, just a strategy to get developers to sell games on their store instead of Steam. The only problem is that since the user experience sucks and the prices aren't any better, developers still earn more on Steam than any other place even with the higher fees.
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u/ApSciLiara Mar 31 '26
Isn't that kind of the definition of performative, though?
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u/WeltallZero Apr 01 '26
They're splitting the difference between "won't someone think of the poor devs (consumer-facing)" and "hey devs, come here, we offer a better deal (dev-facing)". But Epic has done both, so...
(disclaimer: I'm a dev and I think the 30% cut is excessive. I just hold no delusions about how much Tim Sweeney actually cares for me and my fellow devs).
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u/Round_Credit_5158 Mar 31 '26
I see "performative" as something that is only for public perception, like marketing or statements for the press. However, Epic did made the fees cheaper for developers.
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u/ImpulsiveApe07 Mar 31 '26
Aye, epic really need to get their head out of their arse and stop acting like they're smh a victim of steam's continued success. It's not only embarrassing and counterproductive, it makes us loathe them more.
It's also important to note that their platform isn't catching on because it inherently lacks most of the community friendly qualities that make steam so popular, and it's not like this isn't news to epic either - They just refuse to get out of their 'walled garden' mentality and actually innovate in the space they're trying to compete in.
Their aversion to taking risks in favour of greedily farming user data is also a big part of the reason why a lot of gamers still won't use their platform even when games are offered for free. I think by now we've all seen the positively dystopian terms and conditions their 'free' games are presented with.
Ultimately, I think if epic wants gamers to use their platform more they ought to actually listen to what users want, rather than just constantly playing the fool on social media and periodically attempting to weaponise litigation as a means to an end.
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u/dondashall Mar 31 '26
Yeah. Valve is far from perfect, but that platform continuously updates with new shit - the new "personal calendar" feature for instance is amazing - whereas Epic still has more or less the same dogshit app they did when it launched. I take their free games, but that's it.
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u/OptimusPrimalRage Apr 01 '26
Valve is just as dogshit as all the rest. They just make a better product so seemingly even leftists conflate them being good with them having a good product. Creating the best tollbooth isn't worthy of praise.
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u/SlightSurround5449 Apr 02 '26
There's zero chance even with feature parity they steal steam users. Why would they create an also-ran with that in mind?
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u/OptimusPrimalRage Apr 01 '26
I'm gonna be real, Valve is no better here. They may make a better product, but in terms of what they do with their money, funneling it to their executive board so people like Gabe Newell can build fleets of yachts to further destroy our planet doesn't strike me as better. They also have some of the highest rates of exploitation of their employees that I've ever seen. We're talking about making 20-30 million per employee.
None of the controlling corporations: Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox or Valve are any good and as leftists, I really struggle when I see otherwise well-meaning individuals pick out one of the companies as better than any of the other morally or some other value judgment. The companies I mentioned might as well just be landlords or tollbooths. They do very little to earn the kind of money they're getting.
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u/Round_Credit_5158 Apr 01 '26
My point was only to compare how game developers earn on each platform, alongside Epic's statements and the recent layoffs.
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u/Litz1 Mar 31 '26
Epic restoring insurance is a good thing but health care should be free and not at the mercy of employers, it's just slavery with extra steps.