Last week, we heard the great news that RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 would finally return. Not only that, but it would also return with updated graphics and both Soaked! and Wild! expansions. It'll even get a release on the Nintendo Switch.
And now we're finding out that you won't even need to pay for it. At least, if you don't mind getting your copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition on the Epic Games Store.
The EGS homepage notes that starting on September 24, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition will be Epic's free game of the week. That's coincidentally the same day the game releases, so if you had planned on buying it on Steam, you might want to consider paying zero dollars to get it on Epic. Free is free, after all.
Those paying attention to the legal feud surrounding RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will note that this updated release likely spells the end of the lawsuit between Frontier Developments and former publisher Atari. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 was pulled from online retailers back in 2018 when Frontier slapped Atari with a lawsuit for failing to pay the appropriate royalties. Frontier accused Atari of under-reporting sales of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and pocketing the difference for themselves, saying that based on sales data publicly available from SteamSpy, Atari owed them $2.2 million.
We don't know the final outcome of that lawsuit, but we do know that Atari doesn't list the game under the owned properties, and the Epic Games Store says that the new publisher for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is Frontier Foundry, Frontier's new publishing division. This likely means that ownership of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 reverted to Frontier as part of an agreed settlement.
It also reveals an unfortunate pattern of Atari trying to screw their business partners.
If managing a theme park isn't your thing, you can pick up a number of games on the Epic Games Store for free right now, including Football Manager 2020, Stick It To The Man!, and Watch Dogs 2. So far, those titles will all be replaced by RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 on September 24, but Epic usually gives away two to three games every week, so stay tuned for updates.
Source: Epic Games Store