It looks like Epic Games and its “service” will be acquiring exclusives another way this time around. As of today, the company has announced that Epic Games Publishing has signed gen DESIGN, Playdead, and Remedy under its wing to make “next-gen games.”

As mentioned above, this information was announced on epicgames.com. Additionally, the blog post mentions that Epic Games aims to have a “developer-friendly” method so that creators can focus on “making great games.”

It is said that developers will retain 100% of all intellectual properties (IPs) and creative control of their work, while Epic Games Publishing will cover up to 100% of development costs from developer salaries to go-to-market expenses. There will also be a 50/50 profit split, which means that once costs are recouped, developers earn at least 50% of all profits.

With that said, the first company on this list is Remedy, which shouldn’t come in as a surprise since the game that flopped hard in 2019, Control, is an Epic Games Store timed exclusive.

The second company is Playdead — the ones behind Inside and Limbo. This means that future games from the studio will be published by Epic Games Publishing.

The third company is gen DESIGN. Seeing that Kowloon Nights owner has ties to Tencent, and given that Tencent owns 40% of stake in Epic Games, it shouldn’t come in as a surprise that Fumito Ueda and gen DESIGN’s latest project funded by Kowloon Nights is now under Epic Games Publishing branch.

With all of that said, you can read the official blurb and watch the latest trailer showcasing Epic Games Publishing’s recent move right here:

• Full creative freedom and ownership: Developers retain 100% of all intellectual property and full creative control of their work.
• Fully-funded projects: Epic Games Publishing will cover up to 100% of development costs, from developer salaries to go-to-market expenses such as QA, localization, marketing, and all publishing costs.
• 50/50 profit sharing: Developers earn a fair share for their work — once costs are recouped, developers earn at least 50% of all profits.

And for those leery that Epic Games won’t try to secure other companies as timed or permanent exclusives, this description by Hector Sanchez — Head of Epic Games Publishing — says otherwise:

“gen DESIGN, Remedy, and Playdead are among the most innovative and talented studios in the industry, with strong visions for their next games. They will have full creative control, while Epic will provide a solid foundation of project funding and services.”

And given that the team at Epic refers to the Epic Games Store as a “service,” expect any future games under this publishing branch to be locked down on the anti-consumer platform for a limited time or forever.

Lastly, you can read the full write-up by heading on over to epicgames.com.