Since sprouting off the back of Fortnite‘s almost unbelievable success, the Epic Games Store (EGS) has been a major focus for Epic, with them determined to go head to head with Steam to become the premier PC storefront. One of the ways they’ve done this is by signing up timed Epic Games Store exclusives that can’t release elsewhere on PC for a period of time.
This tactic has been effective, with plenty of new players making their way over to EGS to play timed exclusive games. However, it’s also been a controversial one that may have turned as many players away as it’s enticed, due to the fact that established franchises will temporarily move homes and complicate things, as well as timed exclusivity previously being a pretty much unheard of thing in PC gaming. Despite that, Epic don’t seem to want to slow down on the timed exclusive deals.
If you’re thinking of checking them out or just want to know if an exclusive is timed or not, check out this list of timed EGS exclusives below.
Timed Epic Games Store Exclusives
Below is every timed EGS exclusive that can only be found on the storefront on PC, though it may also be available on console, as well as when they released on EGS. We’re also going to try and clarify whether the timed exclusivity has been confirmed or has been left more ambiguous. Italics means that game has yet to release on EGS.
- Against the Storm – October 18th, 2021
- Antstream Arcade – November 18th, 2021
- Axiom Verge 2Â – August 11th, 2021
- Beast Breaker – September 23rd, 2021
- Binary Smoke – 2022
- Crysis 2 Remastered (Confirmed) – October 15th, 2021
- Crysis 3 Remastered (Confirmed) – October 15th, 2021
- Darkest Dungeon 2 (Confirmed) – October 26th, 2021
- Dead Island 2 – February 3rd, 2022
- Evil Dead: The Game – May 13th, 2022
- Galactic Civilizations IVÂ – April 26th, 2022
- Ghostbusters: Spirit Unleashed – 2022
- Goat Simulator 3Â (Confirmed) – 2022
- Grit – 2022
- Jett: The Far Shore (Confirmed) – October 5th, 2021
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Confirmed) – September 21st, 2021
- Kingdom Hearts (Speculated) – March 30th, 2021
- Monkey Barrels – February 9th, 2021
- Mythforce (Confirmed) – April 20th, 2022
- NEO: The World Ends With You (Confirmed) – September 28th, 2021
- Omen of Sorrow (Confirmed) – June 7th, 2019
- Ooblets (Confirmed) – July 15th, 2020
- Paranoia: Happiness Is Mandatory (Confirmed) – December 5th, 2019
- Phantom Brigade (Confirmed) – November 16th, 2020
- Pinball FX (Speculated) – March 31st, 2022
- Rawmen – 2022
- Ravenlok –Â 2023
- Saints Row (Confirmed) – August 23rd, 2022
- Salt and Sacrifice (Confirmed) – May 10th, 2022
- Shoulders of Giants – 2022
- Saturnalia (Confirmed) – 2022
- Sifu (Confirmed) – February 8th, 2022
- Solar Ash (Confirmed) – December 2nd, 2021
- Sonic Colors: Ultimate (Confirmed) – September 7th, 2021
- Space Punks – July 14th, 2021
- Star Trek Resurgence (Confirmed) – 2022
- Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (Confirmed) – March 18th, 2022
- Tchia – 2023
- The Alto Collection – August 13th, 2020
- The Eternal Cylinder (Confirmed) – September 30th, 2021
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria – 2023
- The Wolf Among Us 2 – 2023
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Speculated) – September 4th, 2020
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong (Confirmed) – May 19th, 2022
- Voidtrain (Confirmed) – August 12th, 2021
- Witchfire (Confirmed) – 2022
NOTE: while neither LoL or Genshin are available on Steam, we’re not including them here as they aren’t totally exclusive to EGS and can be downloaded from elsewhere on PC. The same goes for all of the Ubisoft “exclusives” that EGS signed up, as they are still available on Ubisoft’s own storefront.
Permanent Epic Games Store Exclusives
Below are the game we believe may remain permanently on the Epic Games Store, either because the typical period of exclusivity has already long since lapsed, development on the game has ceased, or the game is either funded, developed, or published by Epic themselves.
- 3 out of 10: Season 1
- 3 out of 10: Season 2
- A Knight’s Quest
- Alan Wake 2
- Alan Wake Remastered
- Auto Chess
- Battle Breakers
- Castle Storm 2
- Core
- Corruption 2029
- Crayta
- Dangerous Driving
- Dauntless
- Diabotical
- Fall Guys
- Fortnite
- KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION
- Magic: The Gathering Arena
- Might & Magic: Chess Royale
- PC Building Simulator 2
- Railgrade
- ReadySet Heroes
- Rocket League
- RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures
- Rumbleverse
- Touch Type Tale
- Unreal Tournament
We will update this when more exclusives get announced or their exclusivity lapses.
How Long Is Timed Exclusivity On EGS?
The typical period of timed exclusivity on Epic Games Store is one year. It’s worth bearing in mind that games won’t always instantly release once that exclusivity is up, as sometimes developers and publishers like to continue development before releasing it on Steam and also want to market the game properly before it makes the jump. It doesn’t seem like the timed exclusivity deals always allow studios to discuss the details.
However, there are exceptions to this. 2K’s games, like Borderlands 3, have previously been timed exclusives for just six months, while Red Dead Redemption 2 was kept off Steam for just a single month when it made its way to PC.
There are also games that have been on EGS for longer than a year and are yet to make their way to Steam, though this mostly seems to be about protracted Early Access development or development itself quietly ending, meaning that they end up becoming permanent exclusives almost by accident.
READ NEXT: Timed PS5 Exclusives: The Complete List
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