Epic v. Apple lawsuit reveals how much Epic pays for Epic Games Store freebies

For some inexplicable reason, I’ve always been interested in how much a platform holder pays developers to give away their game for free on said platform. Whether it be PlayStation’s PlayStation Plus games, Xbox Games With Gold or Epic Games Stores freebies, just how much cash does it take to give away games for free? Well, naturally, it operates on a case by case basis but court documents revealed during the Epic v. Apple lawsuit provide a fascinating look at how much Epic paid developers to give away their game for free on the Epic Games Store.

The document, shared by GameDiscoveryCo founder Simon Carless, breaks down the first 9 months of Epic Games Store freebies. The document breaks each game down by entitlements (how many players claimed a free game), buyout price (how much Epic paid), how many new accounts were made to redeem the game and Epic’s UA cost (user acquisition cost = buyout price divided by new users). 

If you share even a modicum of the interest I have in these kind of dealings then feel free to peruse the attached photo of the table.