Shacknews Best Developer of 2018 - Epic Games

Epic Games has enjoyed its most epic year as a developer to date, if you’ll pardon the obvious pun. Let’s count the ways.

One: Fortnite. Even if you’re part of the too-cool-for-school-and-Fortnite crowd who takes your games with more bloodshed and other so-called “adult” content, you can’t argue with Fortnite’s status as the number-one game in the world. It’s on PCs. It’s on mobile devices. It’s on consoles. And arguably most influentially, it’s on Nintendo Switch. That makes the world’s most popular game playable anytime, anyplace, and with solid controls to boot.

Two: Not only is Fortnite everywhere, not only is its take on the battle royale game mode popularized by PUBG the gold standard, but Epic has refused to coast. 2018 has been Fortnite’s biggest year yet thanks to a steady stream of free updates from items and skins to maps and season modes.

Any developer looking to take Epic’s crown in the battle royale and free games space faces an uphill battle—not just because of Fortnite’s ubiquity, but because Epic has consistently demonstrated its commitment to keeping the game fresh and fun.

Three: Epic has long been more than a game developer. The company diversified years ago, seeding the industry with Unreal Engine tech that has consistently powered droves of the most popular and profitable games. This year Epic went a step further by rolling out the Epic Games Store. Developers keep 88% of their profits on games sold through the Epic Games Store, and Epic has already netted (likely timed) exclusives like Ashen and Hades.

Sure, other digital stores such as Discord have thrown their hats into the ring, but Epic was arguably the first to challenge Valve’s dominance in the distribution of digital games in a way not even juggernauts like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have managed to do.

As a fan of the studio since the days of Jazz Jackrabbit, back when the word “Mega” was sandwiched between “Epic” and “Games,” I’m happy to see a studio so committed to development excellence continue to thrive in both the game(s) it makes, and the tech that pumps through the industry’s veins.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.