Epic explains how it spends millions of dollars on free games

Epic Games is once again going to give away free PC games every week of the year through the Epic Games Store, the company announced on Thursday. But how does Epic choose which games to give away? The company tells us it’s about timing — and picking some big names.

Since the Epic Games Store’s launch in late 2018, Epic has spent millions of dollars to give away games as a way to hook new users and bolster its nascent game store. (Originally, it gave away a free game every two weeks before upping that to every week in June 2019.) Epic’s goal is to have one “tentpole” game every month, Steve Allison, VP and general manager of the Epic Games Store, said in an interview with The Verge. “Those become really big weeks,” he said. For the weeks...

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