It’s fair to say not everyone is a fan of the Epic Games Store. Their aggressive exclusivity deals and morally questionable actions, like stealing Steam data, haven’t gone down too well. This hasn’t stopped Epic Games Store boss Sergey Galyonskin from showcasing his displeasure at the actions of partnering companies.
The Epic Games Store is currently hosting the “Epic Mega Sale.” This huge Spring sale cuts $10 off the price of any game retailing above $14.99. This deal even stretches to big pre-orders like Borderlands 3 which has been cut down to $39.99. Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan of this deal.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 received discounts up to 70% off in certain countries. A considerable discount for a game that isn’t scheduled for release until March 2020. Understandably, they weren’t too happy about this and requested that Bloodlines 2 be taken off the Epic Games Store immediately.
However, Sergey Galyonkin was less than sympathetic. In the comments of a DTF article, Galyonkin explained that those who had already bought the game would still keep their rights to the product. He also detailed that Bloodlines 2 would return to the store at a later date and that Epic intends to compensate the discount to Paradox.
When pushed for more details, Galyonkin had the following to say:
“They did not lose money at this sale, they significantly increased sales and at the same time received the full price. If the company is greedy, then this is just the perfect solution – there is a discount, sales have increased, but the store pays a discount. Other stores where the game is also available, most likely lost, yes.”
Whilst these comments are arguably a little contentious, Epic’s Galyonkin may have a point in regard to Paradox’s actions. Since they are being fully compensated, all this deal has ended up doing is encouraging early sales. Assuming that Paradox was completely informed of the sale’s details, this removal could very much be considered anti-consumer.
