We've heard countless times how weak sales as a result of piracy have changed the gaming industry dramatically by eating into developers' profits. While we don't believe the blame can be put exclusively on illegal downloads, piracy is understandably a huge concern for those making games for a living. In the case of Epic Games, it has completely changed their business model and given them a newfound preference towards console development.
The studio's hit title Gears of War reached both PC and Xbox 360 back in 2007, but the sequel never came to the desktop platform. The third game in the series which is due for release in April next year will also be an Xbox 360 exclusive. Speaking in an interview with Edge Magazine, Epic Games CEO Mike Capps explained its reasoning behind the shift, admitting that it boils down to profits and that the money is in the console business – as simple as that.
He continued his love for the PC platform – after all, their classic PC franchises are largely responsible for the company's success – and highlighted how microtransaction-driven gaming could set the PC market for a big rebound sometime soon. His comments are in line with what others in the industry have expressed. Crysis developer Crytek, for example, has also cited piracy as the reason behind its decision to stop developing PC exclusives and move to multi-platform releases.