Batman: Arkham Knight was an early bar-raiser
As the “Epic vs. Apple” kaiju-esque courtroom battle gets underway, more and more tidbits are being uncovered regarding what goes on Behind the Curtain at the industry giants. Presented for your consideration: a document that reveals has much money Epic doled out in order to secure titles for Epic Games Store’s free game giveaways.
The document, released to Twitter byGame’sDiscoverCo.’s Simon Carless, paints an interesting picture of the dollar amounts certain titles cost over others. For example, old-school indie adventureTorchlightcost Epic $150,000 USD to procure for giveaway status, while Unknown World’sSubnauticacost a princely $1.4 million. Ubisoft’s multiplayer battlerFor Honorwas a bargain at $63,000, while the most expensive title on the list is Rocksteady’s epicBatman: Arkham Knight, which sold for $1.5 million.
As the list specifically concerns 2019’s giveaways, Rockstar’sGrand Theft Auto V— a game so in-demandit crashed the Epic Games Store’s serversback in the summer of 2020 — is not noted.
Overall, Epic spent just shy of $12 million in the first nine months of its free games scheme. A fortune to the majority of us, but loose change for the Fortnite studio. Epic Games Store continues to operate at a loss, and is unlikely to turn a profit for several years more. But Epic boss Tim Sweeney is fully aware of the costs, and sees the tossed fortunes as a mere “investment” in the company’s long-term future.
The Epic vs. Apple antitrust trial continues… I’m reminded of theAlien vs. Predatortag-line.
Want to know how much $ the devs of those ‘free’ Epic Games Store games got, & how many copies were grabbed? Here’s the first 9 months to September 2019. 👀pic.twitter.com/5hkLb1VEjj
— Simon Carless (@simoncarless)July 18, 2025
