Twenty years ago Epic Games released its Unreal game development engine and the popular first person shooter game Unreal. Since then, barring the rare flop, the gaming firm has released several free-to-play games as loss leaders to demonstrate what its style of game development toolkit can produce. This approach to the market now seems to have paid off handsomely, with major investment announced.
This success has come via Silicon Valley’s venture capital investment scene, where firms like KKR, Iconiq Capital, Smash Ventures,Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed Venture Partners have ploughed $1.25 billion into Epic Games.
According to TechCrunch most of this success is sue to the title Fortnite and the approach that Epic Games has taken in terms of putting building its reputation and gaming community ahead of amassing large profits, working on the model that securing a loyal fan-base is paramount to success.
Fortnite is a game that draws upon the Japanese novel Battle Royale and The Hunger Games. The concept, The Guardian summarizes, involves contestants being sent to an island where they must scavenge and fight until only one remains.
The Epic Games approach includes reducing the cost of the Unreal game engine, over time, and at the same time upgrading the technology behind the platform, such as smoother compatibility on mobile and better support for Switch. In addition the company has put millions into eSports tournaments, which helps to build a following and co-promote the company’s titles.
Commenting on the investment, Epic Games founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney told Variety: “We’re excited to partner with the finest minds in the financial, sports, and entertainment communities. This reinforces Epic’s position of leadership in real-time 3D technology, and accelerates our ability to improve the way people play, work, and interact with the world.”
