Epic Games’ Director of Publishing Strategy, Sergiy Galyonkin, Leaves Company
Sergiy Galyonkin, also known as Mr. SteamSpy, has departed from Epic Games after nearly a decade with the company. Galyonkin held various roles during his tenure, including six years as the director of publishing strategy. In a statement, he mentioned that he no longer felt like a good fit for the publisher.
The Rise of SteamSpy
Galyonkin gained internet fame back in 2015 with the creation of SteamSpy, a website that tracked data on Steam, Valve’s PC gaming platform. SteamSpy provided valuable insights into playtime and game sales by collecting information from user profiles. This data was particularly useful for Epic Games, who hired Galyonkin as the Eastern European head of publishing in 2016.
Transition to Epic Games Store
Shortly after joining Epic, Galyonkin assumed the role of director of publishing strategy. He played a key role in the launch of the Epic Games Store in 2018, which aimed to be a direct competitor to Steam. To gather data for the new platform, Epic utilized information from SteamSpy. However, Valve updated its privacy settings in the same year, preventing SteamSpy from accessing the data it relied on.
Galyonkin expressed his pride in the company’s efforts to challenge the status quo in game distribution, particularly through their 88/12 revenue sharing model.
Parting Ways with Epic Games
Galyonkin announced his departure from Epic Games on Twitter, thanking his former colleagues and Tim Sweeney for allowing him to contribute to the company’s growth. However, he acknowledged that he no longer felt like a good fit for Epic’s transformation into a platform-focused entity, which he referred to as “Epic 5.0.”
Fortnite’s Impact and Charity Support
During his time at Epic, Galyonkin also witnessed the launch of the immensely popular game, Fortnite, which he commended for its success and positive impact as a free-to-play game without pay-to-win mechanics.
Galyonkin additionally expressed gratitude for Epic Games’ donation of $144 million to support charities in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. He emphasized the significance of this gesture and his everlasting appreciation.
Future Plans and Industry Involvement
Although leaving Epic Games, Galyonkin reassured that he would remain in the games industry. He hinted at being more vocal without the constraints of a PR department.
No Confirmation on Departure’s Relation to Layoffs
While Galyonkin did not address whether his departure was connected to Epic Games’ recent decision to lay off over 800 employees due to lower than expected revenue returns from Fortnite, he left an open interpretation.