One of the most startling statistics to come out of the Apple vs. Epic Games trial this week is confirmation that Epic has spent more than $1 billion signing up exclusives to the Epic Games Store. 

The information came from documents released as part of the trial, which shows that $444 million were spent on exclusive game launches in 2019, and that $542 million has also since been spent on exclusives, totalling more than $1 billion, with $52 million being spent already in 2021 on four exclusive titles. 

It's not unexpected to see Epic have spent a fair chunk of change on exclusives, but it's a much larger figure than many have expected, especially for what are usually 12 month timed exclusives. Epic has also spent more than $11 million on free games in the time between December 2018 and September 2019, which is somewhat paltry in comparison to the spend one exclusives.  

This "Aggressive Pursuit Model" is expected to continue, with the company aiming to secure 52 exclusive games in 2021, 36 in 2022 and 34 in 2023 and 2024.