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Borderlands 3 cost Epic Games $146m
The on-going legal battle between Epic Games and Apple has revealed a load of documents, including some which should have stayed secret – like the price tags on various Epic Game Store exclusivity deals.
If you ever wondered how much it cost Epic to secure Borderlands 3 as an exclusive, then wonder no more: The price was $146 million. The full terms of the deal was $115 million for the game itself, and $80 million as a sales guarantee. Additionally, Epic committed to spending $15 million on marketing, and on top of that there were $20 million worth of “non-recoupable fees”.
Cost of doing business: Epic also spent $11 million to give away Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and $20 million giving away Sid Meier's Civilization VI. Those were by far the most expensive games Epic gave away, so Take-Two is clearly a strong negotiator.
Profitable? Not yet: Borderlands 3 made $100 million in its first two weeks on sale, and $77 million were made through Epic Game Store while the rest came from other retailers and resellers. Since Epic takes 12% of sales revenue, it made $9.2 million in that period. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney expects Epic Game Store to be profitable “within 3 or 4 years.”