Epic Games has recently faced setbacks: The Fortnite giant had to lay off 830 employees due to losses. Nevertheless, it will continue to compete against Steam and give away free games for the PC. Additionally, it aims to improve performance and features in the Epic Games Store: Allegedly, it is already faster than Steam.
This is the situation:
- In October 2023, it became known that Epic Games has gotten itself into a crisis: It spent more than it earned. The numbers no longer added up.
- The CEO Tim Sweeney had to lay off 830 employees, among other reasons, because the shooter Fortnite is no longer as popular as it once was and therefore brings in less money.
- A significant portion of Epic’s expenses apparently goes into the Epic Games Store, which Sweeney has been trying to establish as a competitor to Steam for years. The store gives away a PC game every Thursday. Moreover, Epic acquires exclusive rights to PC games – primarily to keep them away from Steam.
Fortnite was once a huge game that wrote its own stories:
Also in 2024, Epic continues to give away games
This is what Epic says now: At Unreal Fest 2023, Epic Games announced that it will continue to give away free games: The free games will continue to be distributed in 2024 (via youtube).
The giveaway of games and the exclusivity of PC games were highlighted by Sweeney as cornerstones of his strategy to make the Epic Games Store an alternative to Steam. Valve’s platform bothers him mainly because it retains 30% of the revenue itself. In Sweeney’s opinion, this high share for the distribution platform hinders progress in gaming.
Epic Games will intensify its attack against Steam by offering developers 100% of the revenue if they only keep the game off Steam for 6 months.
Epic Games made this clear in a video about its plans for 2024 with a meme.
This can be seen as a jab. On Steam, developers only get 70% of the revenue, while at Epic Games up to 100%:
Epic Games Store is now reportedly faster than Steam, plans offensive
What does Epic Games plan for its store in 2024? Epic aims to significantly improve the Epic Games Store in 2024 and 2025. It presents large plans that essentially aim to become more similar to Steam.
It has now improved the loading time of the launcher and is, according to its own statements, now on par with Steam or even faster than the large rival.
Again, Steam is the focus and serves as a comparison object that it wants to surpass:
For 2024 and 2025, it plans to implement many more features, including a download manager, the preloading of games, or developer streams.
It also seems to be closely orienting itself to Steam for achievements and a rewards program.
Why is this such a sensitive topic? Many players have their existing game library on Steam and view their gaming collection there as a kind of collection that also serves as a reflection of their own gaming past: In the library, everything is visible at a glance. Based on the achievements, one can see what has been played intensively.
Epic is seen by some as a potential disruptor that uses “exclusive deals” to keep games away from Steam, leading to a division of the collection. The game “Fortnite” is for some purist PC gamers a red flag: Some see it as a “kids’ game.”
For years, Epic has also been accused of having a shop that is significantly worse than Steam. Epic seems to be planning to make up for this disadvantage in the coming years.
Billionaire Sweeney is a true believer. He genuinely believes that action must be taken against Steam and the 30% that it takes from developers:
Epic CEO explains why they are specifically attacking Steam with exclusive PC titles
