{"id":52301,"date":"2026-05-19T10:26:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/ci-games-ends-lords-of-the-fallen-2-pc-publishing-deal-with-epic\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:27:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:27:49","slug":"ci-games-ends-lords-of-the-fallen-2-epic-exclusivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/ci-games-ends-lords-of-the-fallen-2-epic-exclusivity\/","title":{"rendered":"CI Games Ends Lords of the Fallen 2 PC Publishing Deal with Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a move that has reshaped the distribution strategy for one of the year’s most anticipated action RPGs, CI Games<\/a> has formally terminated its PC publishing agreement with Epic Games<\/a> for Lords of the Fallen 2. The separation, effective as of April 14, 2026, effectively cancels the title’s planned exclusivity on the Epic Games Store<\/a>, opening the door for a multi-storefront release on personal computers. The announcement, delivered via an official letter to investors on Monday, confirms that while the publishing partnership has been dissolved, the broader technological and service-level collaborations between the two companies will continue under separate contractual frameworks. This development marks a significant strategic pivot for CI Games, which now appears to be pursuing a broader distribution approach for the sequel to its 2023 soulslike revival of the Lords of the Fallen franchise. The termination comes at a critical juncture, with Lords of the Fallen 2 still targeted for a 2026 launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, as the company has now confirmed, PC via the Epic Games Store<\/a> as well as, in all likelihood, Steam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Carefully Timed Separation: Understanding the Announcement Delay<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\n

The disclosure of the contract termination arrived with a carefully managed chronology that has drawn attention from industry analysts and observers. CI Games acknowledged in its investor communication that the agreement to end the publishing deal was signed in April, yet the public announcement was deliberately delayed until precisely one month. The company provided a detailed explanation for this gap, stating that immediate disclosure could have prejudiced the company’s legitimate interests. According to the official statement, the agreement was conditional in nature, and<\/p>\n

CI Games undertook a contractual obligation not to disclose its execution prior to the agreement’s entry into force. The company further maintained that the delay did not carry the risk of misleading the public, as the conditional framework of the deal required a period of quiet operation before the separation could be formally enacted and communicated. This level of procedural transparency is relatively uncommon in the games industry, where partnership changes are often revealed with little context regarding the timing of internal decisions.<\/p>\n

What the Termination Means for Players and Storefronts2><\/h2>\n

For the gaming community, the most immediate consequence is that Lords of the Fallen 2 will no longer be tethered to a single PC storefront at launch. When CI Games originally entered into the publishing arrangement with Epic, the expectation was that the title would be available exclusively through and through an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC. The termination dismantles that exclusivity, meaning that upon its eventual release later in 2026, the game will be available for purchase on the Epic Games Store but also on other platforms most notably Steam, which the company has now indicated is a likely destination. This shift is expected to significantly broaden the game’s addressable audience, particularly among the substantial segment of PC gamers who prefer to centralize their libraries on Valve’s platform. The decision also places where you can buy the game on PC are about to expand, and that fact alone is likely to be well received by a community that has grown increasingly vocal about storefront exclusivity arrangements in recent years.<\/p>\n

Behind the Scenes: What Did Not Change3><\/h2>\n

Perhaps as important as what the termination ends is what it explicitly preserves. CI Games took great care in its investor letter to clarify that the separation pertains<\/p>\n

solely to the publishing deal for Lords of the Fallen 2. The relationship between CI Games and Epic Games remains intact across several other critical domains. The company will continue to leverage Unreal Engine for game development, maintain integration with Epic Online Services and Epic Account Services, and sustain its participation in the Fortnite ecosystem endures under its own separate contractual terms. This distinction is noteworthy because it suggests that the parting was not acrimonious and that the decision to end the publishing partnership was likely commercial and strategic rather than technical or relational. The fact that core engine licensing and online service agreements remain untouched indicates that CI Games still views Epic’s technology stack as valuable for its development pipeline. The separation, the split appears narrowly focused on the distribution and retail terms of one specific title.<\/p>\n

The Lords of the Fallen Franchise: A Brief Contextual Reset3><\/h2>\n

To fully grasp the weight of this decision, it helps to understand where Lords of the Fallen stands as a brand-wise in 2026. The franchise originally launched in 2014 as a spiritual successor to the Souls-like genre, published by Bandai Namco earlier that decade. That first title was developed by Deck13 and CI Games, and while it received mixed reviews, it developed a loyal enough following to justify a sequel. After a long development cycle and multiple false starts, the franchise was essentially rebooted Lords of the Fallen arrived in October 2023, this time developed by Hexworks and published by CI Games. That iteration was praised for its dual-world mechanics and visual design, selling well over one million units within its first few months. Lords of the Fallen 2 was formally announced in early 2025 with an ambitious scope that promised to expand the series’ signature mechanics while introducing deeper<\/p>\n

narrative systems, expanded co-operative multiplayer features, and a even larger interconnected world. The Epic Games publishing partnership was viewed at the time as a way for CI Games to secure favorable revenue terms and marketing support for the high-budget sequel. The decision to exit that arrangement suggests that the calculus has shifted, possibly due to changing market conditions, revised sales projections, or a strategic desire to maximize availability out of the gate.<\/p>\n

Industry Implications: Exclusivity Deals Under Scrutiny2><\/h2>\n

The dissolution of the Lords of the Fallen 2 exclusivity deal adds another data point to an ongoing conversation about the efficacy and popularity and long-term value of platform storefront exclusivity in the PC gaming market. Over the last half decade, Epic Games has invested heavily in securing exclusive releases for its storefront as a way to compete with Steam’s dominant market share. While some titles have thrived under these arrangements, others have struggled to reach their full sales potential due to the friction of requiring consumers to install and use a secondary launcher. The number of high-profile exclusivity agreements has tapered off in recent years, and publishers are increasingly publishers are opting for simultaneous multi-storefront PC releases. CI Games’s move aligns with that broader industry trend. By freeing Lords of the Fallen 2 from exclusive distribution, the company is betting that wider availability will translate into higher overall sales, even if it may also signal recognition that the Epic Games Store’s audience, while substantial, is not large enough to maximize the commercial performance of a major title with this level of production investment. For Epic, the loss of a high-profile departure may intensify existing questions about the sustainability of its exclusivity strategy going forward.<\/p>\n

Release Window and Platform Availability2><\/h2>\n

CI Games has not yet announced a specific release date<\/a> for Fallen 2, but the company continues to target a 2026 launch window. The title will arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. While the PC version will still be on Epic Games Store, the addition of Steam compatibility once the exclusivity clause expired means that PC players will have choice where to purchase and manage their game. This multi-platform approach is consistent with the strategy CI Games employed for the 2023 release, which also launched across the same three platform families. The lack of a firm date leaves plenty of room for speculation, but the resolution of the publishing deal suggests that development is progressing on schedule and that the distribution logistics are now being finalized. The game’s presence on the Epic Games Store will continue, but it will now sit alongside other storefront versions rather than being locked behind a single window. For players who have already begun discussing the potential impact on pre-order numbers and day-one player counts, with many analysts anticipating that the broader availability could drive significantly higher initial engagement.<\/p>\n

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In a move that has reshaped the distribution strategy for one of the year’s most anticipated action RPGs, CI Games has formally terminated its PC publishing agreement with Epic Games for Lords of the Fallen 2. The separation, effective as of April 14, 2026, effectively cancels the title’s planned exclusivity on the Epic Games Store, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":85857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/52301.png","fifu_image_alt":"CI Games Ends Lords of the Fallen 2 PC Publishing Deal with","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-videogames"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cards.overcentral.com\/cards\/en\/52301.png","fifu_image_alt":"CI Games Ends Lords of the Fallen 2 PC Publishing Deal with","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/overcentral.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}