14 DAY TRIAL // Tim Sweeney, the chief executive officer of Epic Games, believes that the upcoming Steam machines and the special SteamOS will make the most open gaming platform ever created that will also be capable of delivering high-quality experience to players.
He tells Polygon that the move from the closed PC space dominated by Windows to the more open models that are offered via the Steam digital distribution service from Valve and on Linux is part of a wider trend towards platforms that empower the user.
Sweeney explains that, “I genuinely worry about the future of Microsoft. They've locked down this Windows 8. They say future app developers should focus there, but you can only ship that with Microsoft's permission and Microsoft's approval through Microsoft's store.”
He adds, “Steam has been a great democratizing factor on PC and if Microsoft forecloses on PC then all developers will shift to other alternatives, like Steambox and Android.”
The executive believes that Microsoft has made a number of solid choices in the last few months, which might signal a move towards a more open overall approach.
Sweeney praises the DirectX 12 announcement because it will create more efficient technology for game developers to use that is also open to the community to comment on.
At the moment, Epic Games is dealing with the launch of the Unreal Engine 4, which has been available for developers since the 2014 edition of the Game Developers Conference.
The company is offering the development suite using a new monthly subscription model and will only take a percentage of the revenue that’s derived from a successful launch.
Unreal Engine 4 is designed to take advantage of the computing power included in the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 and to keep up with advances made on the PC.
The company is also working on a new Fortnite title that uses the same technology, which should be launched before the end of the year.
At the same time, it has suggested that it has a new AAA title in development that is designed to replace Gears of War, which has been recently sold to Microsoft.
The maker of the Xbox One is currently trying to boost sales of its next-gen console, which has been trailing behind the PlayStation 4 from Sony in term of sales.
At the same time, the company has said that it wants a bigger involvement on the PC, which might come after a replacement for Games for Windows Live is launched.