What just happened? The hit multiplayer title Fall Guys is now free-to-play on consoles and PC, though new PC players will have to get it from the Epic Games Store. Those who purchased it on Steam will still receive updates.
A year after its developer's acquisition by Epic Games, the popular online obstacle course game Fall Guys is free-to-play. The game also launches on Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch for the first time today, adding crossplay between those platforms, PlayStation, and PC. Although Epic and Mediatonic Games delisted the PC version from Steam, future updates will keep supporting current Steam players.
Fall Guys initially launched in August 2020 on Steam and PlayStation consoles, quickly reaching over 10 million downloads and ultimately gaining five BAFTA nominations. Last March, Epic Games acquired Mediatonic's parent company Tonic Games Group, thus the PC version's exclusivity to Epic's store.
The change to Fall Guys mirrors what happened with Rocket League. Epic bought Rocket League developer Psyonix in 2019 and made it free-to-play across consoles and PC the following year. It also delisted Rocket League from Steam but still delivers updates to existing Steam players. Both games have become more like Epic's in-house behemoth, Fortnite.
With the free-to-play update, Fall Guys gains new rounds, new obstacles, a new season pass, new challenges, and many other additional features. Anyone who played it before the relaunch will receive "legacy status" extras.