The Epic Games Store’s next free title has been announced.
911 Operator will be free to claim fromEpic’sPCmarketplace from September 14-21.
From developer Jutsu Games and publisher Games Operators, 911 Operator is “a game about the difficult work of people that manage emergency services,” according to itsEpic Games Storelisting.
“Answer incoming calls and react properly – give first aid instructions, advise, dispatch the correct number of firemen/police/ambulances, or sometimes – just ignore the call. Play on ANY CITY in the world!”
911 Operatorwill replace Free Range Games’ Spelldrifter, which is nowfree to claimuntil September 14.
“Spelldrifter combines the puzzle-like positional tactics of a turn-based RPG with the customisability and replayability of a collectible card game,” according to its Epic Games Store listing. “The result: a hybrid, wherein players must juggle the resources at their disposal using both time and space.”
The Epic Games Store gave away 99 free titles last year (up from 89 in 2021). These games had a combined worth of $2,240 and users claimed over 700 million free titles (down from 765 million in 2021), according to Epic.
The company’s CEO,Tim Sweeney, said in March that players shouldexpect to see further high-profile Epic Games Store exclusivesin the future.
And last month theFortnitemakerannounced a new Epic Games Store exclusivity scheme.
The Epic First Run programme allows developers of any size to claim 100% of revenue if they agree to make their game exclusive on the Epic Games Store for six months.
After the six months are up, the game will revert to the standard Epic Games Store revenue split of 88% for the developer and 12% for Epic.
Further reading
Publishers and developers will still be able to release products on their own stores or launchers, and can use the Epic Games Store’s keyless redemption programme to sell the Epic Games Store version on other stores likeGreen Man Gamingand Humble Store.
The scheme is seemingly designed to make more titles exclusive to the Epic Games Store and make them unavailable on competitors’ platforms, most notablyValve‘sSteam.
