It seems like every major publisher these days is leaving Steam and making their own exclusive digital PC storefront for all their games, from EA with Origin and Ubisoft with Uplay up to more recent competitors like Bethesda.net and, of course, the Epic Games Store. There are now very few games publishers which haven’t adopted a digital client of some sort, but now Red Dead Redemption 2 publisher Take-Two has spoken out against the practice, and said that we’re unlikely to see a Take-Two Store for its games.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, CEO Strauss Zelnick suggests that a digital storefront isn’t right for them, saying “we’re really not a retailer,” and that stores dedicated to one publisher’s games aren’t really a good idea, such as Bethesda.net. “That’s not how consumers shop,” he says. Using an analogy from the book publishing world, Zelnick points out that while Random House does sell the books it publishes directly, customers interested in Random House books will “probably go to Amazon or other sites” instead. “You are better placed to be where the consumer is, rather than indicating to the consumer where they need to be,” he adds.
While the company clearly isn’t considering a Take-Two Store, on the other hand Zelnick does consider the competition of the Epic Games Store in the PC marketplace “a good thing.” “It just means more distribution.” While it doesn’t sound like Take-Two is abandoning Steam the way some publishers have, Zelnick seems happy to also work with the Epic Games Store. “We want to be where the consumer is, and if there’s a competitive offering that benefits consumers, generally speaking, if the business model makes sense for us, we will support it.” There’s no word yet then on whether Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released exclusively on Epic Games Store…
