The CEO of Epic Games has responded to accusations that the Epic Games retailer incorporates adware. Early this morning, Tim Sweeney commented on a report by USGamer overlaying the allegations, asking individuals to “help separate facts and opinions from the lies about spyware and foreign control.”
Sweeney opened his temporary Twitter thread (the primary submit of which is embedded additional down this text) by saying “I support everyone’s right to complain about tech industry stuff. Epic’s store, with exclusive games and a spartan feature set, is a fine target for ire.” He then tried to offer extra context across the relationship between Epic and one in all its essential companions, Tencent.
Concerns over the Epic Games retailer’s use of information surfaced in current weeks. Last month, a post appeared on the Phoenix Point subreddit expressing issues concerning the quantity of information the shop gave the impression to be monitoring (though these claims have been later debunked by a separate forum post). Other allegations advised that Epic was pulling information on individuals’s Steam associates lists and play historical past. Epic responded to those claims stating that the data collected about Steam was way more restricted than initially advised.
Epic’s relationship with Chinese writer Tencent, which owns a 40% share within the firm, seems to have stoked fears about this information assortment. That relationship varieties a significant a part of Sweeney’s Twitter thread, wherein he confirms that he’s nonetheless the “controlling shareholder in Epic Games,” and that Tencent is the biggest outdoors shareholder.
I assist everybody’s proper to complain about tech trade stuff. Epic’s retailer, with unique games and a spartan function set, is a high-quality goal for ire. But please assist separate details and opinions from the lies about adware and overseas management.https://t.co/UrNisiFxy6
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 5, 2019
Sweeney goes on to say that no outdoors traders “can dictate decisions to Epic” or “have access to Epic customer data.” He additionally notes that the businesses’ relationship dates again to the early 2000s, throughout which era Tencent, nonetheless in its infancy, visited Epic – most of the firm’s co-founders have been followers of Unreal Tournament within the late ‘90s.
Sweeney closes his thread by saying that “all of Epic’s big decisions are made here in the USA and as CEO I’m 100% responsible for all of them.” He additionally says that he’s “never regretted” the connection between the businesses, and that “the recent anti-China rage doesn’t change that even slightly, as [it’s] completely unfounded.”
In response to Sweeney’s thread, former Valve developer Richard Geldreich said that claims that the Epic retailer is adware are “insane.” He additionally says that Valve gathers “huge amounts of data about virtually everything you do with the Steam client. Yet no one calls Steam spyware.”
Related: Borderlands games are getting review-bombed because of the Epic store
Both Epic and Borderlands developer Gearbox have come beneath hearth lately after it was revealed that Borderlands 3 would be an Epic Games store exclusive for six months after its launch in September. In response to complaints about that call, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford tried to clarify that those decisions were made by publisher 2K, not him or his builders. Epic has acknowledged it will continue seeking exclusivity deals for now, and over the previous few months has introduced a handful of notable releases that will likely be timed exclusives on its retailer.
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