Grab it before it expires on November 9.

While it hasn’t been as stellar of a year for PS4 exclusives as recent years, plenty of great games have released for Sony’s powerhouse platform, which recently became the second best-selling console ever. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will give PS4 users (and those with PS4 owners on their shopping lists) a wide selection of games to buy at heavily discounted prices.

Where to find the best PS4 game deals

Black Friday retailer ads usually start releasing in early November, a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Target’s Black Friday ad was the first among major retailers to release this year; Best Buy’s Black Friday ad released soon after. Both sales offer a wide assortment of PS4 game deals. Expect similarly robust sales from Walmart, GameStop, and Amazon to be announced soon. You should also keep an eye on the PlayStation Store, as Sony usually offers its own deals on digital games throughout Black Friday weekend.

We’ll keep adding to the list below as more Black Friday retailer ads appear online. For now, we’re off to a great start, as Target’s and Best Buy’s ads feature a ton of awesome PS4 games, including numerous 2019 hits for the lowest prices we’ve seen. While specific start times will vary by retailer, all of these game discounts will be available starting Thanksgiving Day.

For more Black Friday 2019 PS4 deals, be sure to check out our guide to the best PS4 console and accessory deals, which include an excellent PS4 Slim bundle, a five-game PSVR mega pack, DualShock 4 controller discounts, and more.

Best Black Friday 2019 PS4 game deals

• Anthem — $10
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — $15
• Battlefield V — $15
• Borderlands 3 — $28
• Bloodborne — $10
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $40
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 — $25
• Control — $25
• Crash Bandicoot N’Sane Trilogy — $15
• Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled — $15
• Days Gone — $20
• Devil May Cry 5 — $15
• Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and Lion King — $15
• The Division 2 — $15
• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age — $20
• Dragon Quest Builders 2 — $30
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition — $15
• FIFA 20 — $28
• Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition — $15
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $28
• God of War — $10
• God of War III Remastered — $10
• Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition — $15
• Greedfall — $30
• Horizon Zero Dawn — $10
• Injustice 2 Legendary Edition — $15
• Judgment — $30
• Just Dance 2020 — $25
• Kingdom Hearts 3 — $15
• The Last of Us Remastered — $10
• LittleBigPlanet 3 — $10
• Marvel’s Spider-Man Game of the Year Edition — $15
• MediEvil — $20
• MLB The Show 19 — $20
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition — $35
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $25
• Nascar Heat 4 — $25
• Need for Speed Heat — $35
• NHL 20 — $30
• Nier Automata GOTY Edition — $20
• Nioh — $10
• Overwatch: Legendary Edition — $15
• Persona 5 — $10
• PES 2020 — $30
• Plants vs. Zombies Battle for Neighborville — $20
• Rage 2 — $20
• Rainbow Six Siege — $15
• Ratchet & Clank — $10
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — $25
• Resident Evil 2 — $15
• Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition — $20
• Shenmue 1 & 2 — $15
• Shenmue 3 — $35
• The Sinking City — $40
• Team Sonic Racing — $15
• Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection — $10
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End — $10
• Until Dawn — $10
• Watch Dogs 2 — $15
• World War Z — $15
• WWE 2K20 — $30
• Yakuza O — $10
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life — $15
• Yakuza Kiwami — $10
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 — $15
• Zombieland: Double Tap Road Trip — $15

Move quickly for your golden key.

Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games and 2K Games, makes a lot of money through microtransactions. For the latest quarter, the company pulled in more than $300 million from what it calls “recurrent consumer spending.” Take-Two intends to have microtransactions in every game it makes, and now the company’s chief executive has shared more details on its strategy for approaching the controversial business practice.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company doesn’t design games with a microtransaction-first mentality. Instead, Zelnick said Take-Two thinks about how to “entertain and engage” players before asking them to spend extra money.

“We only think about monetization after we’ve already focused on that engagement,” he said. “Our approach is that we don’t believe in having toll booths. We want to create a great experience you can enjoy without regard to whether you spend or not.”

Zelnick went on to say that Take-Two understands that players want to be treated fairly when it comes to microtransactions. He acknowledged that Take-Two has stumbled in the past when it comes to this, though he said other companies are more highly criticized.

“We know that, anecdotally, consumers don’t just want to be entertained, they want a fair deal,” he said. “We don’t always get it right but I think compared to the marketplace we tend to get it right more than others. Occasionally we get criticized, but if we are we take a look at the in-game economy and make adjustments.”

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online, the multiplayer mode for GTA V, has been a runaway success when it comes to microtransaction revenue. Despite being more than six years sold, Take-Two expects GTA Online revenue to continue to grow in the current fiscal year.

Take-Two has said it wants to have some form of a microtransaction in every game that it makes, whether that be through in-game purchases, subscriptions, add-ons, or some other means of extra sale on top of the purchase price. Take-Two also owns the Barcelona-based mobile game developer Social Point, which makes free-to-play games that are supported by microtransactions.

Take-Two is not the only company to use microtransactions. All of the major publishers–Activision, EA, Ubisoft, and others–implement microtransactions in their games. For comparison, Activision Blizzard just announced that its own microtransaction revenue reached $700 million for the latest quarter.

For more on Take-Two’s earnings report, check out these stories:

• The Outer Worlds On Nintendo Switch’s Release Date Window Narrowed Down
• Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 5, And Borderlands 3 Reach New Sales Milestones
• GTA, Red Dead Parent Company Is Making Lots Of Money From Microtransactions
• WWE 2K20 Exec “Disappointed” By The Game’s Buggy Launch

We’re now just a few weeks away from the biggest shopping event of the year, but while other retailers are already releasing Black Friday ads, GameStop isn’t ready to show its hand. Instead, the games retailer is launching its last Pro Day sale of 2019, an event exclusive to PowerUp Rewards Elite Pro and Pro members in the US. The sale will kick off this Friday, November 8, and run through Sunday, November 10, with hundreds of discounts on games, consoles, and accessories.

The latest Pro Day sale has some decent deals, but know that you’ll find better prices on some of these products during Black Friday in just a few weeks. If there’s anything you’ve got your eye on, we suggest comparing its Pro Day price against the Black Friday prices seen at Target, Best Buy, and other stores that have already released ads. For example, you’ll find Borderlands 3 for $35, Control for $25, Mario Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for $15, Resident Evil 2 for $15, and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Master Edition) for $35 during Black Friday, cheaper than what GameStop is offering during its Pro Day sale.

Then again, some of these Pro Day game deals might be worth taking advantage of now. The Division 2 is only $15, the lowest price we’ve seen. Mortal Kombat 11 is on sale for $30, Persona 5 is $15, MLB The Show 19 is $20, Tetris Effect is $10, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is $25 (the same price it will be at Best Buy during Black Friday). If there’s a game on your wishlist and you spot it for cheap during GameStop’s Pro Day sale, it could still be worth grabbing–after all, the best deals will sell out fast on Black Friday (or even on Thanksgiving).

GameStop is also offering a console bundle for this Pro Day sale. If you buy a new Xbox One, you’ll get a free copy of either Resident Evil 2, Monster Hunter World, or Devil May Cry 5 in addition to 50,000 bonus points ($50 rewards cash) for your GameStop account. If you buy a new PS4, you’ll get a free copy of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and the same 50,000 bonus points offer. If you need to buy a new PS4 or Xbox One, however, you might want to hold off until Black Friday, which already has some nice PS4 and Xbox One bundles lined up for cheaper.

The Pro Day sale also includes a buy one, get one free offer on all T-shirts, which is quite nice, and buy two, get one free on over 100 Amiibo. GameStop’s large collection of toys and collectibles are on sale too, including the Gears 5 Collector’s Edition Jack Drone, which is down to $150 from $200.

You can check out more deals from this year’s final Pro Day sale below and see the full offering of deals at GameStop.

GameStop Pro Day Sale 11/8-11/10

Games

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 — $25 (PS4, Xbox One), $30 (PC)
• Collection of Mana — $30 (Switch)
• Control — $30 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Devil May Cry 5 — $25 (PS4, Xbox One)
• The Division 2 — $15 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Dragon Quest Builders 2 — $40 (PS4)
• Fallout 76 — $15 (PS4, Xbox One), $20 (PC)
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $40 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Judgment — $50 (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts 3 — $25 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Mario Rabbids: Kingdom Battle — $20 (Switch)
• Metro Exodus — $25 (PS4, Xbox One)
• MLB The Show 19 — $20 (PS4)
• Monster Hunter World — $15 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Master Edition — $40 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30 (PS4, Xbox One)
• NBA 2K20 — $40 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
• Nier Automata: Game of the Yorha Edition — $25 (PS4)
• Persona 5 — $15 (PS4)
• Rage 2 — $20 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Resident Evil 2 — $25 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — $25 (PS4, Xbox One), $40 (PC)
• Tetris Effect — $10 (PS4)
• Will: A Wonderful World — $25 (Switch)
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood – Deluxe Edition — $20 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

Consoles

• New Xbox One S or X console
  • Comes with free copy of Resident Evil 2, Monster Hunter World, or Devil May Cry 5
  • 50,000 bonus points (equal to $50 rewards cash) deposited into account
• Xbox One X (pre-owned) — $300 ($350)
• New PS4 Slim or Pro console
  • Comes with free copy of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
  • 50,000 bonus points (equal to $50 rewards cash) deposited into account
• PS4 Pro (pre-owned) — $300 ($340)
• PlayStation VR bundle with Blood & Truth and Everybody’s Gold VR — $350
  • Comes with free copy of Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
• Nintendo Switch — $300
  • Comes with free Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter pack

Accessories

• Call of Duty Astro A20 Wireless Gaming Headset — $100 ($140)
• Fusion Xbox One Wired Controller — $60 ($80)
• Nintendo Switch Mario or Luigi Wired Fight Pad Pro — $15 ($25)
• Nintendo Switch Zelda Gold Wireless Controller — $35 ($50)
• Ocean Shadow Xbox One Wireless Controller — $50 ($70)
• Pokemon Light-Up Dock Shield for Nintendo Switch — $10 ($20)
• PS4 Platinum Wireless Headset — $130 ($160)
• Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse — $35 ($50)
• Razer Seiren X Microphone — $75 ($100)
• Razer Wolverine Ultimate Gaming Controller — $140 ($160)
• Seagate Hard Drive — $70 ($90) for 2TB, $100 ($120) for 4TB

Apparel and collectibles

• Buy one, get one free on all T-shirts
• Buy two, get one free on Amiibo
• Borderlands 3 Echo Device Replica — $50 ($100)
• DC Gamer Funko Mystery Box — $20
• Gears 5 Collector’s Edition Jack Drone — $150 ($200)
• Ghostbusters Stay Puft Figure — $15 ($25)
• Overwatch Soldier: 76 Nerf Rival Blaster and Targeting Visor — $80 ($120)
• Save $15 on select Monopoly and Funkoverse game sets

Randomised weapons, rechargeable shields and varying enemy difficulty.

Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday are usually the best time of the year to purchase PS4 consoles, games, and accessories. All of the major retailers–Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and GameStop–will have tempting deals on console bundles, 2019 game releases, DualShock 4 controllers, PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and more.

However, just because something is on sale doesn’t mean you should jump at it. This roundup identifies the absolute best PS4 deals that have been confirmed for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019. Please note that we’ll be adding more consoles, bundles, games, and accessories to this list as Black Friday approaches and more retailer ads start appearing online.

PS4 Slim (1TB) with God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, and The Last of Us Remastered | $200

Officially confirmed by Target’s Black Friday ad, the PS4 Slim holiday bundle is arguably the best yet. The 1TB console is $200 and comes bundled with Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, and God of War. Expect it to be available at all major retailers.

PlayStation VR bundle with five games | $200

Available at Target, this incredible $200 PSVR bundle comes with five great games:

• Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
• Resident Evil 7
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
• Everybody’s Golf VR
• PlayStation VR Worlds

So far, we know it will be available at Target. The only downside to this bundle is that it doesn’t come with the PlayStation Camera, which is required.

PlayStation VR bundle with Astro Bot and Moss | $200

This PSVR bundle debuted last year around Black Friday, and so far we know that at least Kohl’s will have it for $200 once again. The bundle comes with the headset, PlayStation Camera, and two awesome platformers: Astro Bot: Rescue Mission and Moss.

DualShock 4 Wireless Controller | $40

DualShock 4 controllers typically receive healthy discounts on Black Friday, reducing the cost of the pricey first-party controllers to around $40. Target and Kohl’s each have DualShock 4 controllers for $40 this Black Friday. We’ll have to wait and see if any retailers beat that price.

• See at Target
• See at Kohl’s

Control | $25

Remedy Entertainment’s eerie action game Control has been buzzing since its August launch. It’ll surely be a Game of the Year contender for many and earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Control review. Target will have it for $25 on Black Friday (Nov. 28-30), the game’s lowest price yet.

Borderlands 3 | $35

An engaging conclusion to the Borderlands story, the co-op-focused loot shooter earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Borderlands 3 review. The new characters shake things up, the colorful cartoon environments encourage teamwork, and the dizzying number of guns makes for a constantly evolving experience. Borderlands 3 will be on sale for $35 at Target this Black Friday (Nov. 28-30).

Kingdom Hearts 3 | $15

Yes, Kingdom Hearts 3 has a wildly convoluted story, just like other games in the series. But the Disney and Pixar worlds are wonderful, the characters ooze charm, and the combat is a fast-paced spectacle. Despite releasing earlier this year, Kingdom Hearts 3 will be only $15 at Target on Black Friday weekend (Nov. 28-30).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | $45

The new Call of Duty game just launched in late October, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be available for $45 at Target on Black Friday (Nov. 28-30). The multiplayer, for the most part, is top-notch, with the best gunplay in series history, and the campaign at least makes an effort to explore the real horrors of war.

Need for Speed: Heat | $35

Need for Speed: Heat being on sale for $35 at Target is somewhat surprising, as the deal was announced before the game even had a chance to release. Racing fans can pick up the latest entry in the long-running series for $25 off just a few weeks after launch.

Resident Evil 2 | $15

The haunting and stunning Resident Evil 2 remake has been on sale countless times since its release earlier this year, but it’s never been this cheap before. Target will have Resident Evil 2 for the scary low price of $15 on Black Friday.

Red Dead Redemption 2 | $30

One of 2018’s biggest games is on sale for 50% off at Target on Black Friday. Red Dead Redemption 2, the epic western with phenomenal writing, stunning graphics, and an ever-evolving online mode, will be just $30.

The Division 2 | $15

The Division 2 improves on the formula of its predecessor in almost every way. The gear-focused third-person shooter has a lengthy and engaging campaign set in Washington D.C. and a steady stream of new content to play solo or alongside friends. It earned a stellar 9/10 in GameSpot’s The Division 2 review earlier this year, and it’ll be on sale for only $15 on Black Friday at Target.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition | $35

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition compiles the remarkable base game with the massive (and incredible) Iceborne expansion. Together they add up to hundreds of hours of monster-hunting fun for $35 at Target on Black Friday.

Buckle up: We’re now just a few weeks away from Black Friday. We’ve already seen Black Friday ads from retailers like Costco and Kohl’s, but Target is the first major retailer whose 2019 ad is packed with some seriously good game deals. Target’s ad features great deals on PS4, Xbox One, and PSVR, along with some truly stellar deals on games. In addition to gaming deals, Target will have big discounts on TVs, laptops, and other tech.

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Target Black Friday 2019 Start and End Times

Target’s calling its slew of upcoming sales HoliDeals. The name mirrors Amazon’s ongoing sale, which is pretty humorous considering Amazon often copies Target’s promotions.

Target’s Black Friday sale starts Thanksgiving morning on its website and at 5 PM in stores. Stores will be open until 1 AM on Black Friday and then re-open at 7 AM. Most of Target’s Black Friday deals run through Saturday, November 30, while supplies last. Target RedCard holders and Circle members can get early access for some deals starting Wednesday, November 27.

The retailer will also have a preview event this weekend, November 8-9, that will include more than 100 doorbusters from the ad. The specific products eligible for the early sale haven’t been revealed, though.

Looking ahead even further, Target’s Cyber Monday sale will kick off Sunday, December 1 and run through Sunday, December 8.

Target’s Black Friday schedule

• November 8-9: Target’s two-day Black Friday preview event with early access deals (in-store and online)
• November 27: RedCard Early Access Sale runs all day, with select deals for Circle members available starting at 6 PM (online only)
• November 28-30: Black Friday deals and doorbusters available
  • Online deals become available starting Thanksgiving morning through November 30 while supplies last
  • See Black Friday store hours below
• December 1-8: Cyber Week deals available (online only)
• December 9: Green Monday sale

Target store hours

• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 5 PM – 1 AM
• Black Friday, Nov. 29: 7 AM – Normal closing time
• Saturday, Nov. 30: Normal hours

You can browse the full catalogue of deals in Target’s Black Friday ad and check out some of our gaming, entertainment, and tech picks below.

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Best video game deals

Target’s game deals are quite awesome and include the lowest prices we’ve seen on a number of first-party Nintendo Switch games. The following prices will be live November 28-30.

Nintendo Switch

• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy — $15
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled — $15
• Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and Lion King — $15
• Just Dance 2020 — $25
• Killer Queen Black — $15
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — $30
• Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle — $15
• Mario Tennis Aces — $30
• NBA 2K20 — $30
• Overwatch: Legendary Edition — $25
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy — $25
• Super Mario Odyssey — $30
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD — $25

PlayStation 4

• Borderlands 3 — $35
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $45
• Control — $25
• Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and Lion King — $15
• The Division 2 — $15
• Dragon Quest Builders 2 — $30
• FIFA 20 — $30
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $30
• Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition — $15
• Judgment — $30
• Just Dance 2020 — $25
• Kingdom Hearts 3 — $15
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition — $35
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30
• Need for Speed Heat — $35
• NHL 20 — $35
• Rage 2 — $30
• Rainbow Six Siege — $15
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — $30
• Resident Evil 2 — $15
• WWE 2K20 — $30

Xbox One

• Borderlands 3 — $35
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $45
• Control — $25
• Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and Lion King — $15
• The Division 2 — $15
• FIFA 20 — $30
• Forza Horizon 4 — $25
• Gears 5 — $35
• Just Dance 2020 — $25
• Kingdom Hearts 3 — $15
• Madden NFL 20 — $30
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition — $35
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30
• Need for Speed Heat — $35
• NHL 20 — $35
• Rainbow Six Siege — $15
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — $30
• WWE 2K20 — $30

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Best PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch console deals

Target has a few incredible deals on PS4 and Xbox One consoles. There’s also a pretty wild PSVR bundle. The Nintendo Switch deal, meanwhile, is the same Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle from last Black Friday. Unsurprisingly, the Switch Lite isn’t on sale at Target.

PS4 Slim (1TB) with God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, and The Last of Us Remastered | $200 ($300)

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Xbox One S (1TB) with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and $40 Target gift card | $200 ($300)

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Xbox One X (1TB) with Gears 5 and $40 Target gift card | $350 ($500)

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PSVR bundle with five games (PlayStation Camera not included) | $200 ($300)

All PSVR bundles will be $100 off:

• PSVR with camera, two Move controllers, and Everybody’s Golf/Blood & Truth — $250 ($350)

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Nintendo Switch with free copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | $300

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Accessory deals

Target will have Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Switch controllers on sale for nice discounts on Black Friday.

DualShock 4 wireless controller | $40 ($60)

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Xbox One wireless controller | $40 ($60)

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Nintendo Switch Joy-Con (L/R) | $60 ($80)

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TV deals

Target will have TVs from some of the most popular manufacturers on sale on Black Friday.

Samsung 65″ Smart 4K UHD HDR TV | $480 ($700)

More Black Friday TV deals:

• Element 65″ Roku Smart 4K UHD HDR — $280 (Black Friday model)
• TCL 65″ Roku Smart 4K UHD HDR — $400 ($750)
• Samsung 55″ Smart 4K HDR — $330 ($430)
• LG 55″ Smart 4K UHD HDR — $330 ($480)
• LG 60″ 4K UHD HDR — $430 ($600)
• LG 65″ 4K UHD HDR — $480 ($700)

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Laptop deals

Target doesn’t have a ton of laptops to choose from on Black Friday, but there are a few good deals.

HP Omen 15.6″ gaming laptop | $900 ($1,150)

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HP Pavilion 15.6″ gaming laptop | $600 ($820)

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HP 11.6″ Chromebook | $100 ($200)

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Miscellaneous tech deals

On top of all of the great deals on consoles, games, TVs, and laptops, Target will have sales on a variety of tech products, including headphones, tablets, smart devices, and more.

Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition 16GB with built-in stand | $60 ($100)

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Google Home Smart Speaker and Google Assistant | $49 ($99)

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Google Home Mini | $19 ($49)

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Sony Noise-Canceling Bluetooth headphones | $90 ($200)

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Razer BlackWidow gaming keyboard | $80 ($120)

PC digital marketplaces have been a contentious topic recently. Steam’s years-long dominance has been disrupted, slightly but distinctly, by aggressive moves from the Epic Games Store. While it’s easy to find players voicing their discontent with the Steam status quo or Epic exclusivity, how exactly we arrived here–and what it means for the game development community–often goes overlooked.

While Steam is the current market leader for PC digital distribution, in the early 2000s its market dominance was anything but certain. It launched in September 2003 to a relatively anemic digital PC market. Publishers had experimented with selling their wares direct to customers, but there was no one-stop shop that brought together multiple publishers. If game studios were door-to-door salesmen, Steam was the mall.

This approach wasn’t entirely novel, of course. Chains like GameStop had built businesses around selling video games. But many big box retailers and brick-and-mortar specialty stores were slow to note the advent of faster Internet connection speeds, especially among the higher-tech crowd that plays PC games. Valve entered this fledgeling market early, and has had time to establish itself as the leader.

In the years since, other digital distribution platforms have entered the market. Microsoft has made multiple attempts to distribute PC games with initiatives like Games For Windows Live, but Steam has remained the market leader. Over time, PC game digital distribution entered something approaching stability, with Steam acting as the default platform accompanied by a handful of publisher-led storefronts and smaller boutique distributors like GOG. None posed a real challenge to Steam’s dominance.

Recently, though, Steam has had to contend with real competition in the PC space, thanks to a new entrant in the market. At first, the Epic Games Store appeared to be another publisher storefront akin to EA’s Origin or Ubisoft’s Uplay, but Epic clearly had bigger plans in mind. It quickly began locking down exclusivity arrangements with developers. Some of these arrangements were controversial, especially when games previously announced or even already available for preorder on Steam were pulled. This was the case with one early example, Metro: Exodus, which honored existing preorders but stopped taking new ones.

The Epic Games Store has posed itself as a more developer-friendly solution in comparison to Steam, but it’s the exclusivity arrangements that have garnered backlash from some in the gaming community. Epic has deep pockets, thanks in large part to the runaway success of Fortnite, and it appears to be using some of those funds to buy market share–at least, that’s what the perception can be. Complaints about the Epic Store range from a lack of convenience–having to run a separate launcher or keep a separate friends list–and broken promises of Steam support, to a lack of features on Epic’s burgeoning store.

Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney has been especially outspoken regarding his company’s store initiative, often vocally criticizing Steam’s revenue split with developers (70/30) while promoting Epic’s own (88/12). He’s also addressed consumers who raise concerns directly to him. Despite the company’s size, Epic is still something of an underdog in the storefront battle. Steam remains the dominant marketplace but, by pitting itself against the market leader, Epic Games is declaring itself a real competitor.

In comments to GameSpot, Sweeney said that the Epic Games Store is profitable with its modest revenue split. He also said that the 88/12 split is the figure given to all developers and publishers of any size, and “there have never been any exceptions.” That said, he’s open about the fact that Epic’s other long-term projects are providing a base of funding for developer partnerships.

“The funding Epic is providing for developers is a long-term investment in their and our future,” he said. “Epic’s funding commitments far exceed the store’s current 5% profits, and is made possible by the financial success of Unreal Engine and Fortnite.” He said these partnerships provide financial support for development and marketing, “which enables them to take their time to build more polished games with significantly less uncertainty.”

Sweeney’s outspoken nature has made him a lightning rod for the divisive issue of store exclusivity. His Twitter account is rife with ongoing discussions as users argue with him about everything from exclusivity to revenue splits. And he’s been quick to pose the company’s moves as altruistic, even suggesting that it would stop pursuing exclusivity arrangements if Steam adopted Epic’s revenue split.

“Ultimately, this is about making the industry a better place, starting with the terms available for developers,” Sweeney told GI.biz in March. “I understand gamers don’t see that. They don’t see the hardship of making a payroll and seeing the store suck out 30% of the revenue from it. It can be jarring to see the industry is changing in ways that are typically invisible to us as gamers.”

The nature of these warring stores has led to backlash, and indie developers in particular are caught in the middle. Epic’s offer is attractive, offering both a better revenue split and a safety net for partners. And while Epic’s criticism of Steam’s revenue model is likely driven at least partly by competition, developers themselves who have ultimately gone to the Epic Games Store often share Epic’s own central question: why is the revenue split on Steam so high?

“I buy a lot of games on Steam, but I didn’t really know how the business of it worked,” said Airborne Kingdom producer Zach Mumbach, “So I started looking into it. How do you get a game on Steam? How do we get funded? And what I found was, the whole thing was kind of disheartening.”

Mumbach had come from a triple-A studio, working at EA before starting an indie company, The Wandering Band. The tiny company had an idea for a game, but the revenue split caught Mumbach off-guard.

“Okay, so [Valve is] going to take 30% of the revenue. And right away I felt, ‘Whoa, that’s high.’ This is coming from AAA, that’s what a Target or Walmart or GameStop takes from big AAA [publishers]. They take 30% to put their games in stores. That’s physical store space. They have to put lights on, they have to pay employees. I guess my assumption was, well digital obviously it’s going to be cheaper. Why would the storefronts take a full 30%?”

The studio had been self-funding its project, but it was going to need a publisher arrangement to keep going, and proposed contracts were equally difficult to swallow. Mumbach found that publishers may be willing to front the cost of development, but would then require the investment to be recouped in full, and then the publisher could receive as much as 50% of the remaining revenue after that point. That means, for example, a $1 million funding arrangement would need to make $1.4 million in total before The Wandering Band would see a dime.

“Depending on the publishing deal you get, you’re getting less than half of the money that your game is making,” Mumbach said. “So I was super bummed. I talked to a whole bunch of publishers and I tried to leverage different offers against each other to try to get these numbers down. That’s when Epic came into the picture. They’re going to get their money back, but not in a way that cuts us off from revenue for who-knows-how-long.”

Mumbach noted that for his game, this makes Epic’s funding a part of the development process. He’s been able to bring on an extra engineer, and the game isn’t yet complete. He concedes that this makes his experience different than a game like Borderlands 3 or Metro Exodus–which were nearly complete by the time their respective Epic Store exclusivity was announced. But he maintains that it was the right move, not only for how it helped his fledgling studio, but how it prevented him from taking big financial risks that could impact the game’s quality.

“Before we signed with them, I was seriously considering ditching the whole publisher route,” he said. “You can imagine if I had a loan for that much money over my head right now, I’d be stressed out and I’d be making decisions about getting this game out faster. ‘We’ve got to get this game out, I’ve got to get my money back, I’ve got to be able to pay off this loan!’ We can take as much time as we need and we have extra funding.”

William Chyr, developer of Manifold Garden, recounted a similar experience.

“At the end of the day the money allows us to keep the studio going,” Chyr said. “It allows us to pay back the investors. It allows us to recoup development costs, keep the lights on, and then we can keep supporting the game. We’ve been able to scale up and get QA and get a lot more help.”

While the move makes sense for developers, high-profile incidents have made many studios wary of how to approach the topic with their prospective fans. Responses ranging from review-bombing to outright harassment and threats have been commonplace. Perhaps the most high-profile of these was directed towards the creators of Ooblets, a small indie game that broke the news with a tongue-in-cheek tone that some gamers took as insulting. The response was fierce and hateful.

“I mistakenly thought I could have some impact on their opinions and emotions and defuse the situation with some lighthearted criticism of the main things that drove them to attack people,” developer Ben Wasser said. “You can see how well that went. It was a stupid miscalculation on my part.”

Even Valve employees have found themselves needing to couch their words carefully to avoid legitimizing abusive responses. After Metro Exodus announced it would be a timed Epic exclusive, Valve issued a statement that referred to the move as “unfair” to customers. A subsequent backlash against individual Exodus developers and even Metro series author Dmitry Glukhovsky made the company consider how its statement may have inflamed tensions.

“I don’t think that was our intent to upset people,” Steam business developer Nathaniel Blue told Kotaku. “It wasn’t the intent of the message. It was more about the timing. The game was about to launch, and then it was [exclusive to the Epic store]. So that was the only goal of that. What came out of that was not what we expected. It wasn’t meant to be this lightning rod.”

Blue added that the company has decided to remain quiet on these arrangements from that point on, so as to avoid upsetting the community.

As for indie developers, they’re faced with the prospect of making the announcement alone. Epic pledged its support for developers against harassment, but has not outlined concrete steps it is taking to protect developers from backlash. Sweeney draws a sharp distinction between critics and harassers, and suggests that engaging the latter group in good faith is the best approach.

“There are two distinct things happening,” he said. “There are critics sharing their views while engaging in debate, and then there is a smaller set of trolls engaging in harassment, threats, and fabrication. Critics and abusers are distinct sets of people and shouldn’t be conflated.

“Harassers have always existed, but have now gained a vast reach because social media companies algorithmically curate by engagement, and negative engagement is stronger than positive. With critics, we should always engage in discussion with the hope that eventually we’ll arrive at a common view of what the store landscape should look like. This is a healthy debate that is shaping the future of the industry.”

For studios, that strategy has propagated naturally, with some watching and learning from other studios and settling on a relatively safe method: make the announcement in a straightforward manner, free from jokes or opinionated commentary. Then engage as necessary, but politely.

“When we announced it, it was pretty straightforward,” Chyr said. “‘We’re doing this, let us know your concerns, this is why we’re doing it.’ We got some backlash but it’s like 5%.”

Chyr pointed out that engaging with the community one-on-one was a crucial aspect step for him to help dispel any bad blood. He made a point to speak with people who were concerned on a personal level, which made a real difference.

“Most of the discussions were positive,” he said. “I have a mailing list with like 4,000 people and I would say maybe 10 people emailed me back disappointed. But I emailed each of them back and asked to talk and I explained the decision. Most of them, actually, came around and said they understood. A lot of them apologized. I think they didn’t expect me to be on the receiving end of that email.”

Mumbach took a similar approach with a detailed post explaining the decision to the community, but also said that some people will just never be convinced.

“Most people were like, ‘this sucks, Epic’s evil.’ But the conversation happened,” he said. “And some people ended on, ‘You know what, best of luck but I’m not going to support Epic.’ Cool, you can do what you want. I don’t have any problem with that. And certainly some people were like, ‘Oh wow, thank you. I understand this a lot better. I’m going to buy games on Epic’s store because I want to support developers,’ and that’s really cool when people say that.”

On the whole, the fight over digital storefronts and backlash against developers who make exclusivity arrangements is happening on a much larger stage, against two of the most profitable and powerful companies in the video game industry. Developers, and especially small indie developers, are only able to do what they can to navigate a contentious topic they have little control over.

“At the end of the day I’m not the person making the store,” Chyr said. “I’m just a developer. As an indie guy, I’ve got my little raft out on the ocean, but I’m not the one making the waves or deciding the current. We’re just trying to not sink.”

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