Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's "altruistic pro-developer talk" over the Steam vs Epic debate "doesn't sit well" after Alan Wake 2 studio "seemingly went into financial crisis"

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Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's "altruistic pro-developer talk" over the Steam vs Epic debate "doesn't sit well" after Alan Wake 2 studio "seemingly went into financial crisis" News By Anthony McGlynn published 21 January 2026

Millions was left on the table for the horror game

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Tim Sweeney's been talking up the value of the Epic Games Store as competition for Steam again, pointing out how good it is for both players and developers. This time, his comments are being challenged by a lead developer at Larian Studios, the team behind Baldur's Gate 3 and the Divinity series, who believes some context is missing.

"I understand Epic entirely funded Alan Wake 2 but this altruistic pro-developer talk doesn't sit well when Remedy seemingly went into financial crisis because they couldn't tap Steam for AW2 sales suffering potentially hundreds of millions in lost revenue," Michael Douse, the publishing director at Larian, says on Twitter.

He's quote-tweeting Sweeney, who is commenting on stats from publisher New Blood showing that taking part in Epic's giveaways increased Steam sales. "On some transactions, Epic wins. On more, Steam wins," the Epic Games CEO tweeted. "But one thing is constant on every transaction: gamers and developers win by having more options and better deals."

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I understand Epic entirely funded Alan Wake 2 but this altruistic pro-developer talk doesn't sit well when Remedy seemingly went into financial crisis because they couldn't tap Steam for AW2 sales suffering potentially hundreds of millions in lost revenue. https://t.co/ylTCFsXIOOJanuary 21, 2026

Douse adds it's "difficult" to take these comments at face value, knowing some games have underperformed overall due to exclusivity. He's unsure if the Epic Games Store as a platform is bringing in customers and converting them into solid revenue for studios in a way that’s worthwhile.

"Ultimately the viability of the store sits on their ability to convert hundreds of millions of Fortnite players into mid-hardcore premium gamers," he says, "and I don't see the Fortnite brand attempting to do that."

In the case of Alan Wake 2, although Epic helped front the cost in a publishing deal, it did take almost two years for the sequel to safely turn a profit for Remedy. Steam and the Nintendo Switch are the only two stores it didn't come out on, and either would've definitely made the accounting on the project easier.

Options are always good, doubly so in an industry as unpredictable as this one. But it's crucial teams are aware of what they're getting into whatever path they take, because it's sales that'll keep the lights on, first and foremost.

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Steam will always dominate over the Epic Games Store because people don't want to "cheat on [their] home library with some other shop," says Witchfire lead

TOPICS Epic Games Valve CATEGORIES PC Gaming Platforms Anthony McGlynnSocial Links NavigationContributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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Logout Read more Steam will always beat out the Epic Games Store because people don't want to "cheat on [their] home library," says Witchfire lead    Lords of the Fallen 2 boss says Epic exclusivity doesn't matter because "majority of PC players" will buy it anyway    Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead says there's a reason Steam is so popular: "It's almost as if it isn't providing a s**t service"    "In other words, 72% don't know what a monopoly is," analyst says of study that finds 72% of game devs "see Steam as a monopoly"    "Steam is winning with its ease of use" but not on quality, says new GOG owner pondering how to "take the market" from Valve    Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney doubles down on his critique of Steam's AI disclosures: "I just hate to see Valve confiscate ever more opportunity from small developers…"    Latest in Games Sorry, why did nobody tell me that 'Fallout but trucking' exists and is about to come to consoles?    Arc Raiders devs have discussed special raids like high-value rounds where you have to bring in good gear, but "don't want to segment the player base too much"    Hytale mithril doesn't exist yet, but thanks to "suggestions in DMs" will make endgame mining "a bit more interesting"    Ex-Bethesda loremaster and Skyrim lead says Starfield's main problem was not enough Todd Howard    Battlefield 6 dev teases new season 2 map and confirms classic Battlefield 4 map Golmud Railway is returning    Prince of Persia remake dev comments on its cancellation: "We know this is deeply disappointing"    Latest in News DC's new Batman movie The Brave and the Bold hires the writer of box office bomb The Flash    Nickelodeon icons Kenan and Kel reunite for a surprise Frankenstein horror comedy    Prime Video's God of War TV show casts Doctor Who actor as Ragnarok villain    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms becomes the highest-rated first season of any Game of Thrones show on Rotten Tomatoes    Netflix partners with Jujutsu Kaisen studio MAPPA, with exclusive new anime coming for subscribers    Larian lead says Epic CEO's claim the EGS offers "better deals" to devs "doesn't sit well" after Alan Wake 2 lost sales    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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