Epic Video games Retailer Boss Sergiy Galyonkin Leaves, Says Epic 5.0 is “Not a Good Match” for Him

After years of Fortnite-fueled relative stability, it appears a shakeup has come to Epic Video games. Final week, we heard Epic was shedding almost 900 workers, with firm CEO Tim Sweeny admitting the corporate has been “spending far more cash than we earn” for a while now. It appears no matter transition Epic Video games goes by way of could have an effect on one of the divisive components of their enterprise – the Epic Video games Retailer – as right this moment Sergiy Galyonkin announced he was leaving the company.

Galyonkin based Steam Spy and later joined Epic as their director of publishing, a place that meant he oversaw the launch and operation of the Epic Video games Retailer. Whereas Galyonkin was instrumental in constructing “Epic 4.0,” he believes he’s “not an excellent match” for the longer term “Epic 5.0” imaginative and prescient of the corporate…

“As we speak is formally my final day at Epic Video games. These eight years have been a number of the most enjoyable in my profession, and I’m deeply grateful to my former Epic Video games colleagues and Tim Sweeney for permitting me to assist construct Epic 4.0. I’m additionally immensely grateful for the beneficiant $144M donation Epic Video games despatched to numerous charities to assist Ukraine within the early days of the Russian invasion of 2022. At the moment, Epic Video games was forward of some G7 international locations in offering assist. It means the world to me, and whereas I wasn’t at all times well mannered throughout these discussions, I’ll perpetually be grateful.

We launched Fortnite, which later turned a kind of self-reinforcing cultural phenomena I wrote about only a yr prior. We proved that free-to-play with out pay-to-win can work at scale. We challenged the established order in recreation distribution with the 88/12 income share. Now, Epic Video games is on its solution to remodeling from a recreation developer, engine creator, and writer right into a platform – Epic 5.0. I’m not an excellent match for this new model of Epic — it requires individuals of a unique sort.

I plan to stay within the gaming trade. I additionally hope to be extra vocal now that I haven’t got to fret concerning the PR division knocking on my DMs. Once more, thanks to everybody I labored with at Epic Video games – it was an unimaginable journey, and I’ll at all times cherish it.”

What do you suppose this departure may imply for the way forward for the Epic Video games Retailer? The place do you see “Epic 5.0” going basically?