Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney has responded to reports that the Epic Games Store has been losing huge sums of money.
Over the weekend, PCGamer shared reports that Epic Games was losing over hundreds of millions of dollars through its Epic Games Store dating back to 2019. The losses, which total to over a quarter of a billion dollars, stems from Epic Games’ efforts to bring gamers to the store through exclusives and free games.
The report, which includes information shared by Apple, alleges that Epic Games lost £132million on the Epic Game store in 2019, with additional projected losses of £199million in 2020 and £101million in 2021. Apple also claims that the Epic Game Store will “not be profitable for at least multiple years, if ever”.
Tim Sweeney has now responded to the reports, assuring everyone that the losses are all a necessary part of growth and investing. Responding to IGN’s tweet about the loss, Sweeney replied: “That’s right! And it has proven to be a fantastic success in reaching gamers with great games and a fantastic investment into growing the business!”
Apple spins this as “losing money”, but spending now in order to build a great, profitable business in the future is exactly what investment is! It’s equally true whether you’re building a factory, a store, or a game.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 10, 2021
In a follow-up tweet, Sweeney said: “Apple spins this as “losing money”, but spending now in order to build a great, profitable business in the future is exactly what investment is! It’s equally true whether you’re building a factory, a store, or a game.”
Sweeney’s tweet also included an infographic on the number of customers who patronise the Epic Game Store and amount of money it generates.
The sharing of Epic Games’ loss were revealed as Apple prepares its defence for its May court date against Epic Games in a lawsuit that dates back to August 2020, when Epic Games filed legal action against Apple after Fortnite was removed from the App Store.
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