Game giveaways on the Epic Games Store boost their sales on Steam

The free distribution of the indie shooter Blood West on the Epic Games Store led to a sharp increase in its sales on Steam. On the day of the launch, sales on the Valve platform increased by about 200%. This was reported by PC Gamer with reference to the words of the head of the publisher New Blood Interactive Dave Oshry.

Distribution as advertising, not a “black hole”

According to Oshry, he previously considered the Epic Games Store a “marketing black hole” that does not bring noticeable benefits to developers. However, practice has shown the opposite: the free distribution worked as effective advertising, stimulating purchases on other platforms, primarily on Steam. The growth of interest in the game, as Oshry noted, was also recorded on consoles.

The developer commented on the widespread opinion among players that even a cheap game on Steam often looks more attractive than a free one on the Epic Games Store. Many PC users prefer not to split their library between different launchers and stay in the Steam ecosystem.

What is Blood West

Blood West is an indie first-person shooter with elements of stealth and immersive sim, the action of which takes place in a gloomy alternative version of the Wild West with pronounced supernatural motifs. The game relies on unhurried gameplay, limited resources, non-linear locations and freedom of choice in the passage. In terms of pace and structure, the gameplay is in many ways reminiscent of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Epic Games Store Context

Epic Games Store has long used free game giveaways as one of its key audience engagement tools. At the same time, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney previously admitted that not all such deals have been financially effective for the platform itself.

It should be noted that the Epic Games Store is currently also giving away the stealth action dilogy Styx for free, while on Steam you can buy the same games for 107 hryvnias, supporting the developers directly.