Epic Games Store Leak Suggests Subscriptions Are on the Way

20.01.2024 - 22:41 / gamerant.com / Rainbow VI (Vi)

A recent leak indicates that the Epic Games Store may be preparing to announce a subscription service on the platform. The appeal for subscription services has seen an uptick in recent years, particularly amid the growth of Xbox Game Pass. With gaming companies looking to subscriptions as a viable future, it appears that Epic Games could be joining the list as well.

While subscription-as-a-service has been around for many years, the model wasn't explored intensely in gaming until the likes of EA Play and PlayStation Now (PS Now) back in 2014. A few years later, Microsoft launched the Xbox Game Pass service, which the company has continued to aggressively push since. Now, with more companies looking to revamp their offerings, this subscription service trend only seems to be gaining traction in the industry.

According to leaked data, Epic Games Store might be getting a subscription service of its own. The dataset hints that the usual annual and monthly periods, along with additional discounts for subscriptions, may be included. Additionally, it suggests that EA Play could be one of the subscriptions on offer, likely similar to Steam or a Game Pass-like bundling. There's also an indication that timed trials will be part of the service. While the company has launched a subscription on Fortnite, Epic Games Store has yet to announce or comment on a similar service to its platform.

Incidentally, reports of a potential Epic Games subscription come barely a week after Ubisoft announced changes to its subscription service. The French publisher recently revamped its Ubisoft+ service to two tiers; Ubisoft+ Premium at $17.99 and Ubisoft+ Classics at $7.99. Its Premium offering includes access to day-one releases, select early-access titles, Ubisoft's back catalog of games, and more. Meanwhile, the second tier will offer older titles like Fallout 4, Rainbow Six Siege, and Far Cry 6. In any case, time will tell if Epic Games is looking to follow a similar pricing strategy or if it's eyeing the Xbox Game Pass route.

However, it's worth noting that not everything has looked promising for Epic Games. Back in September, Epic Games laid off 870 employees, about 16% percent of its staff. The staff cuts were a result of divesting Bandcamp and spinning off most of SuperAwesome, two companies Epic Games acquired in 2020 and 2022 respectively. At the time, the company claimed the cost-cutting efforts were made without breaking development or its core aspects of the business, to focus on Epic Games' «ambitious plans». It will be interesting to see how a potential subscription service could play into these plans in the coming months.