>>717446109
Because you can't beat a service at critical mass with lots of buy-in. Valve was the first big digital distributor on PC, the only way to beat them was to time-travel. Xbox happened around the same time but Xbox also just only existed on the Xbox.
You couldn't bribe people to use the system, at best they'll just have their Steam library plus "free shit on Epic"
The only move was to develop more stuff like Fortnite to compel people to use it. The "Epic exclusivity" thing didn't work because all it did was make people wait for Steam. There's too many games vying for attention, you are not going to win a platform fight like that.

Honestly though any company would be thrilled to be running Fortnite. Not just a BR but basically a massive content platform that Gen Z and Gen Alpha uses in lieu of actual social spaces? Most played game on every platform give or take if Call of Duty is running a new event?
Company's set for the next two decades easy. Constant feedback loop, companies will want to license skins, customers will want to buy skins, it keeps going and going. Just make the models and let the money roll in.