WRC 8, Bee Simulator, and Paranoia will be Epic Games Store exclusives

Publisher Bigben has confirmed that three of its games will be Epic Games Store exclusives on PC when they launch later this year. These three games are Bee Simulator, WRC 8, and Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory, and this will be a one year period of exclusivity for each title before they’ll be available on other digital PC storefronts. WRC 8 is releasing on September 5th so will remain exclusive until the same date in 2020, Bee Simulator will remain exclusive until October 3rd 2020, and Paranoia: Happiness Is Mandatory will remain exclusive until November 14th 2020.

In a statement Bigben Interactive’s Benoit Clerc said:

“We are very pleased to be reinforcing our Epic Games store offer with a variety of unique games from our catalogue. Our latest offer is comprised of three games that are very different from each other: Bee Simulator, a superb family game; Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory, a tactical CRPG brimming with dark humour; and WRC 8,the official simulation of the FIA World Rally Championship, which will also be the first rally game available on the Epic Games Store.”

These three titles join a whole collection of other games that have opted for the exclusivity deal. Recently Oddworld: Soulstorm became an Epic Games Store exclusive as a recent of financial issues that were addressed with the deal. Other games that will be exclusives include Shenmue III (and we have a new preview of that here), Remedy’s latest title Control, whose review you can read here, The Outer Worlds, Journey to the Savage Planet, Metro Exodus, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, Twin Mirror, and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.

The reason that so many publishers are choosing to go to Epic will likely be down to the income split between the store and publishers, which is a much better rate than Valve is offering through Steam. Of course, there’s been some backlash among the gaming audience regarding these decisions, though developers and publishers will look to do what is best for them financially.

Source: Press Release