The difference between having to use one launcher or another to boot up a PC game might feel like a trivial thing to some, but a game launching only on something like the Epic Games Store as opposed to the more ubiquitous Steam can affect its reach. Tim Sweeney, Epic CEO and guy who posts too much for as much money as he has, seemed to forget this as he preached the virtues of capitalism and competition, saying that developers and gamers alike win when they have options.
Epic and Steam compete for each customer and each sale. On some transactions, Epic wins. On more, Steam wins. But one thing is constant on every transaction: gamers and developers win by having more options and better deals. https://t.co/RzU0twrmbr
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 20, 2026
Michael Douse, Larian Studios’ publishing director, responded to Sweeney’s comments by stating that some of Epic’s publishing deals had seemed antithetical to Sweeney’s seeming belief in the value of “options” for developers and players. He specifically calledout the fact that Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment’s award-winning horror sequel, is only available on the Epic Games Store, rather than Steam. Remedy has said in recent financial reports that it has been operating at a significant loss in recent years, primarily due to its co-op shooter FBC Firebreak flopping last year, but in general, the studio seems to be dealing with financial troubles. Douse argues that the company is losing out on “potentially hundreds of millions in lost revenue” by sequestering Alan Wake 2 on a less popular storefront.
“Not that they need the money but a [percentage] take to Epic could’ve recouped dev costs [and] more,” Douse wrote. “Competition is good, and important, but it is difficult to buy the message when there are demonstrable cases of games underperforming as a result of the tactic. Ultimately, the viability of the store sits on their ability to convert hundreds of millions of Fortnite players into mid-hardcore premium gamers, and I don’t see the Fortnite brand attempting to do that.”
Realistically I think if you want to be consistent in dev positive messaging you just take an easy PR W by amending the contract to allow them to drop the game on Steam now everyone has made their money and the drop-off in UA has made that angle negligible https://t.co/v5rAo6XUR3
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) January 21, 2026
For whatever it’s worth, there is some evidence that suggests Alan Wake 2 might finally be making its way to Steam after almost three years. Just earlier this week, an Alan Wake “franchise” Steam bundle including the original game and the American Nightmare spin-off was renamed “Origins,” implying that this collection of the early games may no longer encompass the entirety of the “franchise” as it exists on Steam. If so, maybe Remedy will get a nice bump in Alan Wake 2 sales, but it is important to point out that for all Sweeney’s touting competition and options as something we should all support, if the deals studios have to make to work with Epic leave studios at a disadvantage with potentially catastrophic consequences, it’s all just posturing.
Update: 1/22/26, 12:03 p.m. ET: Remedy has weighed in on the situation with a statement of its own, saying that while yes, there are some publishing deals that don’t work in a developer’s favor, the one it agreed to with Epic was “fair” to the studio.
Hi. There would be no Alan Wake 2 without Epic Publishing. The publishing deal with Epic was very fair to Remedy. While these complex deals can often take even a year to reach their conclusion, and may not always be fair to the developer, this one was. And it only took months to get done. Epic Games was, and is, an excellent partner to us. Steam or no Steam.
