Epic Games
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Contents
History
Epic Games was originally founded as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991 and was based in Tim Sweeney's parent's garage. The company soon changes its name to Epic MegaGames in 1992 and goes on to release a few of its early games such as ZZT and Jazz JackRabbit[2]. In 1999, the company relocated its headquarters to Cary, North Carolina, and renamed itself once again to the famed "Epic Games". In 2006, Epic Games develops the first of the Gears of War trilogy series, the company's first Xbox game, with additional publishing on Windows. In 2011, Epic Games announces the development of Fortnite, one of Epic Games' most popular video games. The release of Fortnite sparked a chain reaction of events that resulted in much of Epic Games' success. Although Fortnite started as pay-to-play, the company eventually decided to change the game to free-to-play in 2014. This change led to Epic Games releasing the unreal engine to consumers for free, allowing any registered user to play any free-to-play game owned by Epic on one convenient platform. With Epic Games growing exponentially in the early 2010s, Tencent bought a 40% minority stake in Epic Games and now is the second highest shareholder of Epic Games after Tim Sweeney.
Games
Fortnite
Fortnite is a third-person shooter game. Users can choose from an array of game-modes, with the most popular of the modes being Battle Royale. The objective of Battle Royale is to be the last person/team alive. The match initially starts with 100 players, with the number decreasing as players eliminate other players. Additionally, there is a "storm" that closes in on the players, forcing them to converge in a smaller location. Fortnite is currently on its 19th season (as of January 28th, 2022). [3]The game was announced in 2011 and was released as free-to-play in 2014. [4]
Rocket League
Rocket League is a soccer video-game where the players are cars instead of people.[5] Rocket League offers many different game modes, from 2v2 basketball mode (referred to as "hoops") to regular 3v3 competitive car-soccer. The regular 3v3 competitive car-soccer mode features an orange team vs a blue team. The goal of the game is to score more goals than the other team, while trying to stop your opponent from scoring in your team's goal, in a five minute period. If the game is tied after the five minute period, the game will go into overtime and the winner will be decided by the team to score first in overtime.
Epic Games Store
Ethical Efforts
Epic Games v. Apple
Epic Games and Google
China
On November 1st 2021, Epic Games decided to shut down its work to bring Fortnite to the Chinese market. This decision is theorized to be from China's growing pressure to improve the standards of living for youths in China. More specifically, the Chinese government and big tech giants are under increased pressure to develop ways for youths in China to spend less time gaming. Tencent, a Chinese-based technology company and a 40% minority stakeholder of Epic Games, is speculated to have a major influence on this decision as Tencent's mission statement is to use technology for good. Although Epic Games had developed a Chinese Version for Fortnite, the company still decided to abandon all efforts, in hopes of improving society for youths in China.
Ooblets
Epic Games officially partnered with Ooblets on August 6th, 2019[6], a game where you build up your personal farm among other tasks.[7] In response to Ooblets agreement to exclusively partner with Epic Games, the studio received thousands of violent and racist threats.[8] Epic Games put out an official statement condemning any harmful messages sent to the Ooblets Studio.
Tencent
Tencent is an internet and technology corperation based in China. It has part ownerships in many popular software companies, such as Riot Games and Epic Games. Tencent bought a 40% minority stake of Epic Games in 2012 and continues to own that percentage of the company. Tencent was founded with the mission of using technology for good in order to improve quality of life.[9] Despite this, Tencent has been under scrutiny for operating under values not consistent to their mission statement. Tencent has public stated their effort to improve work-life balance as well as setting aside double the amount of money their are currently donating to social responsibility programs. [10][11]
References
- ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/about
- ↑ https://apps.voxmedia.com/at/polygon-a-history-of-epic-games/
- ↑ https://dotesports.com/fortnite/news/start-end-dates-for-all-fortnite-seasons
- ↑ https://apps.voxmedia.com/at/polygon-a-history-of-epic-games/
- ↑ https://www.nfhs.org/media/1020429/what-is-rocket-league_.pdf
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/05/epic-denounces-harassment-in-wake-of-epic-game-store-exclusivity-controversy
- ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/ooblets
- ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/ooblets-developers-receive-threats-for-epic-games-store-exclusivity-deal-2019-8
- ↑ https://www.tencent.com/en-us/about.html
- ↑ https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3164929/tencent-vows-improve-work-life-balance-after-fresh-996-criticism-over
- ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-19/tencent-doubles-social-aid-to-15-billion-as-scrutiny-grows
