Unfold Games has just released the unique, nebulous, and beautiful game Darq. With the puzzler horror game out in the wild, publisher and developer Unfold Games has taken a stand to keep a promise, which means sticking to Steam as first revealed and not breaking that promise to become an Epic Games Store timed exclusive.
Many indie developers work hard, and Unfold Games is no exception to the rule. Developing games by yourself or with a small budget and team isn’t easy. And with that said, Epic Games Store often seeks out publishers and developers and is willing to give them a cut as well as an 88|12 revenue split for putting a game on the Epic store.
Financially, most indie devs and even triple-A devs take this deal and oftentimes receive backlash for breaking a promise, not releasing on the platform as first advertised.
In this case, the opposite has happened. The developer that often comments on this very website’s writeups on Darq, Unfold Games, has taken the promise of releasing the exquisite puzzler on Steam even when contacted by the Epic Games Store.
On an ask me anything (AMA) on r/Games, the publisher/developer did not shy away when answering questions and took up one Redditor on why Darq is not an Epic Games Store timed exclusive. Unfold Games’ answer regarding the two storefronts, and the promise made way back lies below:
“Epic reached out to me right after I released the trailer announcing Steam release date. At that point DARQ was in top 50 most [wishlisted] games on Steam. I felt going for an exclusivity deal would show that my word means nothing (as I just had promised the game would launch on Steam). Besides, DARQ page was on Steam since November 2018 and a lot of people patiently kept it on their wishlist since then. I thought it was a bad idea to [disappoint] all those people and prove to the world that my [announcements] mean nothing. Epic made it clear that they reached out to me with an exclusivity deal – I politely turned them down before we had a chance to discuss any details (money offered, etc.). I asked them if they would be willing to sell DARQ non-exclusively, and they explained that at this point in time it’s not something they can do. It was a polite and professional exchange – I have nothing bad to say. It just wasn’t the right fit for DARQ.”
Seeing that Unfold Games is being sincere and keeping the promise made a long time ago, many people on the AMA shared the same sentiment as user Steven2597:
“And for this, you have my purchase.
I’m not even currently interested in your game but I need to vote with my wallet and this is my way how.”
And with gratitude, Unfold Games had this to say:
“What can I say, I appreciate it greatly!”
As a little bit of backstory, Darq was once a product of Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo, and now the psychological horror game is on Steam.
The title that’s a bit like Bandai Namco and Tarsier Studios’ Little Nightmares and a Tim Burton film opts for a unique art style that mixes 2D and 3D together to create a somber look and eerie designs in a dark dreamscape, which happens to take place in the head of a kid named Lloyd.
If all of that sounds like fun, and something worth backing, you can head on over to its Steam page where the PC game runs for $19.99. Additionally, you can learn more about Darq by hitting up darqgame.com.
