CI Games announced today that it has signed a separation agreement with Epic Games Publishing, dissolving the exclusive PC distribution deal the two companies struck in June 2024. Lords of the Fallen II will self-publish across all platforms on launch, with PLAION continuing as the global physical distribution partner. The game remains on track for release in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The full announcement from CI Games reads:
“Independent developer CI Games today announced that it has signed a separation agreement with Epic Games Publishing. As a result, CI Games has regained full open distribution rights for the PC version of Lords of the Fallen II, moving away from the previous PC-exclusive publishing arrangement signed in June 2024. Lords of the Fallen II remains scheduled to launch later this year on PC via Epic Games Store and other PC storefronts, as well as on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. CI Games will self-publish the title across all platforms, while PLAION continues as the global physical distribution partner. CI Games will continue to utilise Epic’s technologies, including Unreal Engine 5 and Epic Online Services (EOS), powering cross-platform play, matchmaking, friends list, and seamless shared-progression co-op.”
“Like many in the industry, CI Games faced challenging market conditions in 2023 and 2024, and Epic Games provided significant funding and strategic support that helped ensure Lords of the Fallen II could fully realise its ambitions. This partnership enabled CI Games to meaningfully expand upon community feedback from the original Lords of the Fallen, while substantially advancing the sequel across gameplay, technical performance, world design, and online functionality. ‘Epic was there for CI Games exactly when we needed them most.”
“Their support and belief in the project made a real difference, and for that we are truly grateful,’ said Marek Tymiński, CEO of CI Games. ‘Epic has been an outstanding supporter of Lords of the Fallen II. With Unreal Engine, EOS and the rest of Epic’s world-class technologies, we’re going to ship a performant game in a massive world that players can explore together across PC and console.’ With the new agreement now in place, Lords of the Fallen II will launch with open PC distribution on day one, including the Epic Games Store.”
The announcement is diplomatic. The timeline is not. The separation agreement was signed on April 14, 2026. CI Games disclosed it to the public on May 18. The company justified the delay by stating that immediate disclosure “could have prejudiced the Company’s legitimate interests” during the period when the agreement was conditional. What changed between April 14 and the public announcement is not specified.
The practical outcome is straightforward: Lords of the Fallen II is now expected to launch on Steam alongside the Epic Games Store on day one, which is what the game’s PC audience wanted from the moment the Epic exclusivity deal was announced in 2024. Epic’s exclusivity arrangement had granted the company worldwide distribution rights for the PC version across the “entire product lifecycle,” terms that would have locked Steam’s substantially larger PC player base out of the game permanently at launch.
The reversal sits awkwardly alongside CEO Marek Tymiński’s public statements. As recently as December 2025, Tymiński posted on X that the “majority of PC players who want a specific game will buy it on Epic if it’s exclusive there.” Four months later his company tore up the exclusivity deal.
The numbers tell the story. The original Lords of the Fallen shipped in 2023 and reached 2.5 million sales worldwide as of March 2026, finally recouping its $80.45 million development and marketing budget after two and a half years. CI Games needed the sequel to perform faster. Locking the PC version to the Epic Games Store for its entire commercial life was a direct obstacle to that goal. Epic’s platform does significant volume on Fortnite and free game giveaways. Soulslike RPGs from mid-tier studios are not its traffic drivers. Steam is where the Soulslike audience actually buys games.
A CI Games designer’s portfolio inadvertently suggested an August 2026 launch window, with Summer Game Fest on June 5 the likely venue for a formal release date announcement.
The Epic Games Store exclusivity era for third-party titles appears to be contracting. Several high-profile exclusivity arrangements have ended or failed to renew in 2025 and 2026 as developers assess whether the funding offset justifies the audience limitation. CI Games took Epic’s money when it needed it in 2024, shipped a better game because of it by Tymiński’s own account, and then walked out the door the moment the contract permitted.
The FP audience playing Soulslike games on Steam should mark their wishlists now.
Does day-one Steam availability change your plans for Lords of the Fallen II? Let us know in the comments.
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Even though I don’t like Epic Games as a company, I believe what CI Games did was a traitorous move. Their game wouldn’t be what it is now if Epic hadn’t given them the tools, the resources, and the money. They shouldn’t have bitten the hand that fed them; makes them look untrustworthy and greedy in my opinion.
Corporatization ruins games - and pretty much everything else as the content/product is subject to a committee of interests which often has no grounding in the content/product.
Exclusivity is a corporate committee idea. Prove me wrong.
As far as LotF, it will do better being non-exclusive.
Also as far as LotF, I'm more than done with "souls-like" games and "brutal" and "diverse" and "unforgivable," and "punishing." None of those descriptives were used on the greatest games before Dark Souls. I don't want my entertainment to be "punishing." Won't buy them. Let the masochists buy them and enjoy them.