Epic Games
Building a digital storefront
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epicgames.com- Strategy and product roadmap for the Epic Games ecosystem
- Design, development, and QA of the Epic Games Store and custom CMS
- Design and development of Fortnite Party Hub
- Ongoing feature development and optimization
- Cross-functional collaboration
Outcomes
Store customers in a year
Dollars in direct revenue for the Epic Games Store in 2022
Games available on the Epic Games Store
Work & Co and Epic Games team members working together to launch these projects on ambitious timelines
Overview
What began in Tim Sweeney’s basement 30 years ago has become the leader in the gaming industry. The breakout hit from Epic Games, Fortnite Battle Royale, is the world’s most viral game. It has a staggering 250 million global players and generates billions in revenue. Epic Games also powers Unreal Engine, the most popular gaming engine of all time, which includes tools for developers to design and build games.
Though it rarely brings on outside partners, Epic Games collaborated with Work & Co to help define new digital experiences for players and creators. Together, we shipped the Epic Games Store, beating expectations and grossing over $680 million within a year. Next, we shipped a CMS that lets developers launch, manage, and sell games directly to players. And we helped Epic own the conversation inside Fortnite, collaborating to launch Party Hub, the in-app voice-chat.
“On the metrics of account growth and revenue, we are ahead of our early expectations.”
Awards & Recognition
“The company behind Fortnite wants to become the next Facebook or Google….The idea isn’t much of a stretch.” Read more
“The company has pressed industry giants like Sony into changing their tactics, and even launched its own digital storefront to redefine how video game publishers negotiate fees with online marketplaces.” Read more
“Epic gives Unreal Engine creators a larger cut of product sales.” Read more
“Yet another substantial threat to Steam’s dominant position as the lead distributor of PC titles.” Read more
4 Big Takeaways
One cohesive experience, two distinct audiences
For Players
For the Epic Games Store to succeed, it needed to appeal to both players and developers. For players, it showcased a world beyond the already massively successful Fortnite. An immersive store experience highlights new game titles with rich content, including videos and interactive previews. Users can quickly discover, buy, and download new games.
For Developers
To forge deeper ties with developers and encourage them to sell in the new Epic Games Store, we built a powerful CMS to help make game pages stand out. An easy-to-use publishing platform lets developers create custom pages with immersive content, updates, and information. The layout optimizes every page for conversion and downloads.
Scaling to 100 million customers
A Revolutionary Model
Because they’re developers themselves, Epic Games introduced a new, fairer revenue-sharing model. The company receives only 12% of revenue from every game sold, significantly less than the industry standard of 30%. Since its launch in December 2018, the Epic Games Store has helped developers sell hundreds of games to over 100 million customers.
Top Priority: Velocity
To help the Epic Games Store scale to 200 games and beyond, we created a single React front end across web, native desktop (Windows/macOS) and mobile. Our approach keeps maintenance simple. Code sharing helps the store iterate and evolve quickly across all gaming platforms.
Party Hub: Owning the conversation inside the game
True Social Gaming
For teenagers, Fortnite is just as much about hanging out. To support the social aspect with a new digital tool, we partnered with Epic Games to launch Party Hub, a chat platform integrated directly into the Fortnite mobile app. Players and observers can download skins and create custom avatars, then use voice-chat during games. Players can also seamlessly transfer the chat across any combination of platforms—PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile.
Creating a long-term partnership for ongoing success
Building Together
What began as a single project has grown into multiple tracks of work. Work & Co Founding Partner Marcelo Eduardo explains how a deeper relationship helps our teams collaborate more closely and ship products more quickly.
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