As the second most popular platform on PC, the Epic Games Store remains far, far behind Steam.
In the world of PC gaming, there’s one dominant digital platform… and then there are the others. That number one is Steam, a service that’s been around for over twenty years and, in reality, faces no real competition. Of course, there are a few publisher-run platforms (Battle.net from Activision, EA App from Electronic Arts, or Ubisoft Connect from… Ubisoft), but these platforms are far too closed-off to pose any real competition. Alongside them, there’s still GOG, which specializes in slightly older games and also offers some great more modern titles, but nothing comparable to Steam. No, the only one that—on paper, at least—could claim to compete with Steam is the Epic Games Store.
The interface promises to be significantly improved © Epic Games
Launched by publisher Epic Games in December 2018—though not limited to its own games—the Epic Games Store’s primary goal is a more equitable distribution of profits between the platform and developers. Instead of the 30% commission charged by Steam, Epic Games announced from the outset a commission of just 12%. Naturally, studios were quite pleased with this initiative. To win over players, Epic Games had another idea in mind: giving away one free game per week for an entire year. The promotion was even extended and continues to this day, more than five years later. Better yet, during the holiday season, they even give away one game per day.
These are undeniable strengths that make the Epic Games Store an interesting underdog. Unfortunately, the software side of things is too poor and too far behind for the store to truly compete with Steam. Epic Games is aware of this and has promised to improve the situation. The website VideoCardz noted the publication of a presentation detailing the work Epic Games is doing on its store. The goal is to deliver a more efficient, stable, and comprehensive client within twelve months. “V2” of the Epic Games Store shouldn’t be too far off, as the documents obtained by VideoCardz mention a 12-month roadmap and highlight two key figures: a cold start that’s 5 times faster and a restore process that’s 6.5 times faster from the Windows taskbar.
We’ll have to wait and see, but better performance is always welcome! © Epic Games Store
Better yet, Epic Games also seems fully aware of its tool’s lack of features—which is hardly surprising—and its “V2” should introduce a new personalized space, game recommendations, quick-access categories, and a new selection of “Games of the Moment.” Each game’s product page will also be significantly revamped with new options to provide direct access to communities and present progress data more clearly. Finally, let’s remember that the Steam client we know today is the result of more than twenty years of evolution. So let’s give Epic Games a little more time to perfect its platform.
