The next free Epic Games Store title has been revealed

The next free Epic Games Store title has been confirmed.

Classic indie platformer Cave Story+, from developers Studio Pixel and Nicalis, will be free to claim from Epic’s PC marketplace from August 31 until September 7.

It will replace RTS game Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, which is now free to claim until August 31.

The Epic Games Store gave away 99 free titles last year (up from 89 in 2021). These games had a combined worth of $2,240 and users claimed over 700 million free titles (down from 765 million in 2021), according to Epic.

The company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, said in March that players should expect to see further high-profile Epic Games Store exclusives in the future.

And on Wednesday, the Fortnite maker announced a new Epic Games Store exclusivity scheme.

The Epic First Run programme allows developers of any size to claim 100% of revenue if they agree to make their game exclusive on the Epic Games Store for six months.

After the six months are up, the game will revert to the standard Epic Games Store revenue split of 88% for the developer and 12% for Epic.

Epic said all new games and apps are eligible for the programme, as long as they are released on or after October 16, and haven’t been previously released on another third-party PC store.

Further reading

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Epic Games Store is offering developers 100% of revenue for six months of exclusivity

The move is designed to make more titles Epic Games Store exclusive

Publishers and developers will still be able to release products on their own stores or launchers, and can use the Epic Games Store’s keyless redemption programme to sell the Epic Games Store version on other stores like Green Man Gaming and Humble Store.

The scheme is seemingly designed to make more titles exclusive to the Epic Games Store and make them unavailable on competitors’ platforms, most notably Valve‘s Steam.