The upcoming Soulslike Lords of the Fallen 2 won't be tied to any particular store at launch after all. Previously, the sequel was an Epic Games Store exclusive, but publisher CI Games has since bowed out of that agreement, opening the possibility of the game releasing on Steam and other stores from the off.
The news comes from an official document outlining the change, published on May 18. This actually happened back in April, and the announcement was delayed slightly to buffer against immediate prejudices.
Although the publishing contract has been dissolved, CI Games and Epic will continue working together on a number of fronts, including through the Unreal Engine. "The conclusion of the agreement by the company and Epic will not affect the ongoing cooperation between the parties in relation to the Unreal Engine, Epic online services, Epic account services, or the company's participation in the Fortnite ecosystem," states the document, "and each of these relationships will continue and remain governed by their respective separate agreements."
This is a turnaround from comments made by Marek Tyminski, the founder and CEO of CI Games, who's been defending the Epic deal on social media. In December 2025, he proclaimed on Twitter that the "majority of PC players who want a specific game will buy it on Epic if it’s exclusive there."
While I don't doubt the principle to some extent - if people want a game enough, they'll get it wherever they can - clearly, something about the arrangement didn't make sense anymore. The obvious side-effect is that Lords of the Fallen 2 might be available on Steam as soon as possible, opening up a much larger potential audience, no matter what way you look at it.
This is the latest in what's been a tricky few months for Epic. Fortnite's prices were raised in March, to considerable pushback, and the company laid off hundreds of people in the same month. The dissolution of exclusivity deals, once a big part of the Epic Games Store's strategy for attracting customers, is another signal that wings of the enterprise are perhaps struggling a little.
