Microsoft and Epic Games are in ongoing talks that could bring the Epic Games Store to the next generation of Xbox hardware, Windows Central reports.

The negotiations, if they result in a deal, would mark one of the most significant shifts in console storefront policy since the current generation launched. The Epic Games Store — currently available on PC, macOS, and Android — has never shipped as a full third-party storefront on a major closed console platform. Landing on Xbox would change that.

For studios and publishers, the operational stakes are clear. The Epic Games Store offers an 88/12 revenue split on PC, compared with the 70/30 split that has traditionally governed console digital sales. If Epic brought comparable terms to Xbox hardware, developers selling multiplatform titles could face a materially different economics picture on Microsoft's console — though any terms specific to a console version of the store have not been disclosed, and the talks remain unresolved.

The move would also align with Microsoft's broader strategy under the current Xbox leadership of treating its ecosystem as platform-agnostic. The company has already committed to shipping first-party titles on competing consoles, expanded Xbox Cloud Gaming to third-party devices including select smart TVs and Meta Quest headsets, and reframed Xbox Game Pass as a cross-screen subscription product rather than a console-exclusive hook. Adding a rival PC storefront to Xbox hardware would extend that logic one step further — effectively conceding storefront exclusivity in exchange for growing engagement across devices.

For Epic, the calculus is equally concrete. The company has spent years and billions of dollars in free-game giveaways, exclusivity deals and weekly coupon campaigns to grow the Epic Games Store's user base against Steam. Console access through Xbox would open a distribution channel that Steam has not secured on any major closed platform, giving Epic a differentiator it has failed to win on PC market share alone.

The talks also arrive amid a live regulatory backdrop that has already reshaped mobile storefronts. Epic's litigation against Apple forced allowance of alternative payment mechanisms and external storefront linkouts on iOS in the US, and the EU's Digital Markets Act compelled Apple to permit alternative app marketplaces on iOS in Europe. A voluntary deal between Microsoft and Epic would pre-empt similar regulatory pressure on consoles, where closed storefront models have so far survived largely intact in the US and EU.

What remains unknown is scope. The discussions concern next-generation Xbox hardware, per Windows Central's reporting; there is no indication that the Epic Games Store would arrive on current-generation Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. Timing also depends on Microsoft's next hardware cycle, which the company has confirmed is in development but has not dated.

For developers, the near-term operational impact is limited: nothing changes until a deal is signed and storefront terms are published. The signal to watch is whether Microsoft formalizes third-party storefront access on its next console — and what revenue split Epic offers developers there if it does.