Epic Games Store Players To Pay Extra Fees up to 7% On Certain Payment Methods

You must have heard about the whole Epic Games Store controversy by now. The digital game distributor found itself in hot waters after announcing that many upcoming games would be Epic Store exclusives, games that were previously on Steam would now only be available through Epic Store. This has enraged many PC players as it means that there is yet another piece of software that would be needed to play certain games but as it turns out this is not the only reason players find the idea repulsive.

Most PC players have a special connection with the Steam store in that it was the first and the most extensive online distributor to offer a streamlined experience. Naturally then many have grown accustomed to Steam Store. Moreover, Epic’s incentive to offer a better percentage to devs for each purchase is perceived as an unfair tactic to sabotage Steam. All of this has resulted in quite a backlash on part of Epic Games Store.

However, the above was just to summarize the recent backlash that Epic Store received, in this article, I will talk about the attractive monetary incentive that Epic is offering devs and its repercussions for customers.

Epic Games Store Players To Pay Extra Fees up to 7% On Certain Payment Methods

Epic Games has said that it will offer a very generous 12/88 Percent split in favor of the developer upon each purchase of the game. This means that the devs will receive 88 cents to every dollar. This is, of course, great for developers and exponentially better than anything Steam or any other store offers. However, there is a little detail that may be of use to the player who wishes to purchase a game on Epic Store.

The problem arises when we look at the methods of payment accepted by Epic. Generally, Epic Store accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover for online payments, however, if you choose to pay with any other method such as Paypal you will have to bear the processing fees which can be up to 7 percent or more depending on the payment method. Do note that players from developing countries don’t often have access to the prescribed payment methods.

Moreover, addressing the devs, Epic states,

Also note, some payment methods are more expensive than the industry norm For those
payment methods, Epic will pass the cost through to consumers as a payment processing fee-
Your share will not be reduced by the use of those more expensíve payment methods

All of this means that although the 88/12 percent split seems fair on paper ultimately the consumer will have to suffer. Furthermore, Paypal Wallet, which is perhaps the most popular and commonly used payment method for online purchases, is not supported by Epic Store unless it is linked to a funding source such as:

• Credit card
• Debit card
• Bank account

In a nutshell, if you belong to a country where you don’t have access to the “industry norm” of payment methods then you will have to bear a significant cost in the form of processing fees.

Let me know in the comments what you think about all this, does it seem fair or are you unconvinced?