Can Epic Games Store Ever Catch Up to Steam? Market Analysts Express Doubt
For much of this year, Epic Games has been vocal about its plans to overhaul its storefront. Promising a faster, redesigned launcher, a more intuitive interface, and a system for personalized recommendations, the company is clearly striving to evolve its platform into a more competitive digital hub. However, according to industry experts, these technical updates may be a case of too little, too late.
In a recent assessment of the digital storefront landscape, Emmanuel Rosier, Director of Market Intelligence at Newzoo, offered a sobering take on the company’s trajectory. Speaking to PC Gamer, Rosier was blunt about the store’s future, noting, “I don’t see how they can recover at this point.”
The “Steam” Problem
At the heart of the issue is the sheer dominance of Steam. Despite Epic’s aggressive strategy of offering weekly free games to lure users away from Valve’s ecosystem, the plan has failed to translate into long-term player retention.
“I don’t really see how they can turn that around because Steam has become so inevitable,” Rosier explained. He noted that while users are quick to “collect” the free titles provided by Epic, many players rarely launch them. In a ironic twist, the habit of collecting often reinforces platform loyalty elsewhere; players frequently see a free game on Epic, only to end up purchasing the title—or its sequels—on Steam, preferring to keep their library in one unified location rather than fragmenting it across multiple launchers.
Fighting Too Many Battles
Rosier also pointed to a strategic overextension at Epic Games. By attempting to challenge multiple industry titans simultaneously—including direct conflicts with Apple and Google Play over mobile ecosystem fees—Epic may have spread its resources too thin. “The challenge I think Epic is facing is that they try to win everywhere,” Rosier added. “They probably ran out of steam on where they cannot fight all these battles at the same time.”
A Tale of Two Epics
While the outlook for the Epic Games Store remains bleak, Rosier expressed a much more optimistic view of Epic as a developer. He specifically highlighted the impressive resurgence of Fortnite, which has successfully pivoted from a battle royale title into a massive, multi-brand metaverse.
By integrating a dizzying array of crossover cosmetics—from Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man to characters from Kingdom Hearts and Persona 5—Epic has managed to reinvigorate its flagship title. “You can see they put a lot of thought in Fortnite right now,” Rosier noted. “It’s working better when you look at the state of Fortnite today compared to six months or one year ago.”
The Road Ahead
Despite the success of its internal development, the path to a broader recovery for the storefront remains uphill. While Epic recently revealed that it is working with Xbox to bring its launcher to future Microsoft hardware, these incremental expansions are unlikely to displace Steam’s “inevitable” status.
As the gaming industry shifts, it appears that while Epic remains a powerhouse in content creation, its ambition to control a major slice of the digital retail market may be falling short of its original, lofty goals.
