Epic Games, Inc. — research brief

Educational notes. Not affiliated with Epic Games. Epic is private. These primary pages do not publish Fortnite revenue, engine revenue, headcount, or a consolidated total. None of those numbers appear on the canvas.

FACT — Epic Games Store revenue share

Page: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/distribution/revenue-programs/revenue-share (HTML fetched Oct 4, 2026).

“Applies to all net revenue from June 1, 2025, on a per-product, per year basis across PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. Standard revenue share of 88%/12% applies after the first $1M in net revenue, unless otherwise specified.”
So the first $1M net per product per year is not charged the 12%. FAQ: the threshold “runs on a calendar year and resets on January 1,” including after an Epic First Run or Now on Epic window ends. Payouts follow each program’s own terms until they expire.
No opt-in. Applies to all titles. Threshold is tied to the title; a transfer does not reset it. Payout reports in USD; no current FX or inflation adjustment.
“Unreal Engine royalties are waived on payments processed by Epic Games.”
Store description cites access to 295m+ customers. That is reach, not a revenue figure, and it is not a Fortnite MAU.

FACT — Unreal royalties

License page (unrealengine.com/license): runtime products licensed to end users pay a 5% royalty on lifetime gross revenue above $1M. No royalty on the first $1M. “Revenues generated from sales in the Epic Games Store are royalty-free.” Release notification, then quarterly reports.
Royalty-news page: Launch Everywhere with Epic for games launched on or after January 1, 2025. Ship on EGS before or at the same time as other stores on PC, Mac, and Android (iOS noted as future on that page) and the rate can be 3.5% instead of 5% on all platforms and stores, including consoles.
Same news page: Developer Portal calculates royalties from revenue you enter, excluding Epic Games Store earnings.

FACT — Fortnite creators

License page, Unreal Editor for Fortnite: engagement payouts and in-island transactions. Path described: sign in, get accepted, publish islands, payouts if players engage. No pool size or rate card on that page — not invented here.

INFERENCE

Live-ops and engine R&D cost money. No line item is published.
Where Epic is not the payment processor, platform fees exist. Rate not taken from these pages.

Teaching arc

Fortnite gathers players → Unreal taxes other companies’ hits only after $1M, and not on EGS-processed sales → the store takes 12% only after $1M net per product per year → stack them and the channel decides which fee applies.

Sources

# Epic Games, Inc. — research brief Educational notes. **Not affiliated with Epic Games.** Epic is private. These primary pages do not publish Fortnite revenue, engine revenue, headcount, or a consolidated total. None of those numbers appear on the canvas. ## FACT — Epic Games Store revenue share Page: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/distribution/revenue-programs/revenue-share (HTML fetched Oct 4, 2026). - “Applies to all net revenue from June 1, 2025, on a per-product, per year basis across PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. Standard revenue share of 88%/12% applies after the first $1M in net revenue, unless otherwise specified.” - So the first $1M net per product per year is not charged the 12%. FAQ: the threshold “runs on a calendar year and resets on January 1,” including after an Epic First Run or Now on Epic window ends. Payouts follow each program’s own terms until they expire. - No opt-in. Applies to all titles. Threshold is tied to the title; a transfer does not reset it. Payout reports in USD; no current FX or inflation adjustment. - “Unreal Engine royalties are waived on payments processed by Epic Games.” - Store description cites access to **295m+ customers**. That is reach, not a revenue figure, and it is not a Fortnite MAU. ## FACT — Unreal royalties - License page (unrealengine.com/license): runtime products licensed to end users pay a **5% royalty on lifetime gross revenue above $1M**. No royalty on the first $1M. “Revenues generated from sales in the Epic Games Store are royalty-free.” Release notification, then quarterly reports. - Royalty-news page: **Launch Everywhere with Epic** for games launched on or after January 1, 2025. Ship on EGS before or at the same time as other stores on PC, Mac, and Android (iOS noted as future on that page) and the rate can be **3.5% instead of 5%** on all platforms and stores, including consoles. - Same news page: Developer Portal calculates royalties from revenue you enter, **excluding Epic Games Store earnings**. ## FACT — Fortnite creators - License page, Unreal Editor for Fortnite: engagement payouts and in-island transactions. Path described: sign in, get accepted, publish islands, payouts if players engage. No pool size or rate card on that page — not invented here. ## INFERENCE - Live-ops and engine R&D cost money. No line item is published. - Where Epic is not the payment processor, platform fees exist. Rate not taken from these pages. ## Teaching arc Fortnite gathers players → Unreal taxes other companies’ hits only after $1M, and not on EGS-processed sales → the store takes 12% only after $1M net per product per year → stack them and the channel decides which fee applies. ## Sources - https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/distribution/revenue-programs/revenue-share - https://www.unrealengine.com/license - https://www.unrealengine.com/news/unreal-engines-improved-royalty-reporting-system