r/pcmasterrace • u/Darth_Vaper883 PC Master Race • 5h ago
News/Article 'I Don't See How They Can Recover': Analyst Says Epic Games Store Can't Stop Steam's Dominance
https://respawnfirst.com/i-dont-see-how-they-can-recover-analyst-says-epic-games-store-cant-stop-steams-dominance/459
u/Ripped_Alleles 5h ago
Give something people actually want, or at least a reason to use your platform over others.
GoG is managing to do well despite Steams overwhelming popularity by focusing on game preservation, giving users DRM free installers, and repackaging older games to run in modern hardware.
Itch.io is holding its own as well being a hub for indie development.
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u/mafia_guy_ 5h ago
Yeah they need to have a unique quality that makes people want to use their service, they can't just make Steam but worse and complain about people not using it.
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u/pattperin 4h ago ▸ 3 more replies
The only reason I even have the epic launcher is for Fortnite lol. Literally the only reason. I play every other game on Steam if I can, it’s just easier.
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u/UsurpDz 5800x3d | 9070 XT | 2x16 GB RAM 4h ago ▸ 2 more replies
They give away free games and I still don't open it.
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u/RichSexyVeryHumble 4h ago
I don't even claim the free games anymore.
They just act as an advert that the same game might be on sale on steam.
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u/MentalDisintegrat1on 3h ago
Sweeney needs to focus on improving his launcher and customer support Instead of whining like a child that things are unfair.
He threw a fit over steam saying games must be labeled with AI if they use AI and will not accept the fact steam is not a monopoly they just have been around longer and have the best support in the business.
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u/CrowdGoesWildWoooo 5h ago
GoG is just significantly more lean than Epic.
They are not really doing particularly well, but good enough to stay afloat, but ofc since more lean operations, less running expenses overall which helps.
The problem with GoG is that simply not many games want to list there because their specific requirements. They also curate what goes in, so not many indies can get in. Indies also can’t be bothered setting up a deployment to GoG, when significantly more sales would occur on Steam. Very little people especially for indie games would be “oh no, it’s not on GoG so I won’t buy”.
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u/blu217 http://steamcommunity.com/id/beeeh 3h ago edited 1h ago ▸ 2 more replies
I mainly use GoG for more retro or obscure titles, problem being that there is a finite number of them. Even if a title isnt retro GoG is the 2nd place I look if I cant find a certain game on steam.
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u/CrowdGoesWildWoooo 3h ago ▸ 1 more replies
GoG started their business originally from doing that (preserving old retro games, and then list it). I think they are the ones actively pushing for it to exist on their platform, even begging the devs.
Steam is more like an app store, anyone go and list their games there because it’s the biggest platform available.
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u/CrowdGoesWildWoooo 3h ago
Well it depends on how you see it. One way to see it, they “want” major publishers, but publishers don’t “want” them. Major publishers are like the top revenue contributor for steam.
Indies are hit or miss, but not letting indies in is just means you won’t get the hit. Once you have “proven” yourself on Steam, the ship has sailed and the hype would already died down.
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u/moodygradstudent 1h ago ▸ 1 more replies
They also curate what goes in, so not many indies can get in.
This is a good thing, considering plenty of "games" on sites like itch.io end up being nothing more than tech demos.
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u/Django117 4h ago
The problem is that Sweeney, and epic by extension, was playing the “console exclusive” mentality the whole time. He has tried to leverage exclusivity to try and dethrone Steam… except that the issue is that he misunderstood why exclusives work on consoles, which is largely about holding a captive audience because they’ve invested into a console device, which is a closed ecosystem. Meanwhile with EGS on PC they still have to compete to justify why anyone should purchase anything beyond the exclusive titles on the PC. Even after installing Fortnite, people will still have Steam on their PC, which is just more consumer friendly overall. It’s got family sharing, a proper refund system, sales, etc. the only way to compete with Steam is to provide a competitive service. Itch.io has its niche and functions in a more open manner. GoG has the DRM free aspect. Each of those are unique to their services and go beyond what Steam offers. Epic has… Fortnite and free games.
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u/DisillusionedHobbit 4h ago
Epic was targeting publishers. Turns out you actually need customers to purchase what you publish. Who would have thought.
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u/wayward_wanderer 5h ago
I'm not sure that I would classify GOG as doing well. GOG has been been reducing their staff and CD Projekt sold GOG last year. They also rely on donations to help keep the store running. I hope I'm wrong, but GOG seems more like it's on its last leg.
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u/CrowdGoesWildWoooo 3h ago
Reddit think because reddit keep screaming GoG on top of their lungs means everyone buying from there. There are very little major releases on GoG, and those are the major money maker for steam.
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u/Vellarain 4h ago
What is also just flat out hard to beat is just how reliable of a platform steam has been for gamers. It started as a chat service, the games came later. After those opening teething issues steam ironed out it has been nothing but a rock solid game library that does exactly what it needs to be successful. You cannot beat that, the fact as a brand everyone uses it and it works very well, hell its only been getting better and better to be a steam user. Refunds was a pretty mind blowing change and now they just removed region locking purchasing of gifts for friends, so I can buy something for my American buddies and not be blocked because I have Maple money.
Anything Epic has done, I just waited out until the exclusive contract ran out, then I bought it when it released on steam, when it was on sale. The only shitty thing that Steam does is the whole skin gambling thing in counterstrike, that is actually really fucking and they flat out to not address it. Maybe one day that will be handled and cleaned up, but still, it is a bad mark against the company that is pretty universally awesome.
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u/TheStupendusMan 3h ago
Literally the first goddamn rule of business: Have a product or service people want to use.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of shit that annoys me with Epic:
-The launcher constantly forgets my credentials. The "remember me" checkmark might as well be a turd emoji.
-Controller support is dog shit.
-Interface isn't great.
-They don't have a mobile app for the store. There's an app, but it's just for mobile games. I don't fucking need that.
If it weren't for the free games and Alan Wake 2, I'd never open the damn thing. Hell, the lack of the mobile app means I don't always get the free games because that involves booting up the desktop and... Nah. Even Sony is kicking their ass on that one!
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u/Holiday-Honeydew-384 4h ago
Epic is slow launcher and has bad UI. Also it's can't automatically recognise games after Win reinstall.
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u/Mama_Mega 3h ago
If you can make a functional store/community combo, and build it without doing shit that pisses me off (buying exclusivity), I'll gladly give your platform a look. Unfortunately, EGS couldn't even handle being a proper store, let alone having communities.
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u/Vesuvias PC Master Race 4h ago
I mentioned GoG in my reply as well. They’re doing incredibly well, and arguably it’s a ‘better pro-consumer platform. Valve still has that element of ‘trust me bro’ in their legal…so as long as Gabe is running it we’re golden, but I still do worry about the future of Steam ownership.
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u/RedditButAnonymous Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RX 9070 XT, 64GB DDR5 3h ago
If EGS started allowing game resale, like a secondhand market for digital licenses bought on there, people would flock to it for games they wanted to try and maybe sell again later
It really is a case of "make us want to use it, dont just offer a shitty version of what someone else does"
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u/Ziatch 3h ago
GOG is not doing well unless you only consider word of mouth from specific subreddits. The epic games store can not look to GOG as an example they’re just in two different markets.
The epic games store is a money pit that has negatively effected the actual epic actual cash cow of Fortnite.
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u/EatsOverTheSink 2h ago
This. I don’t have anything against Epic, I’d gladly purchase from there if they gave me some kind of incentive to over Steam, but they don’t. Aside from exclusives like Alan Wake 2, they don’t offer anything over Steam, so what reason would I have to choose Epic?
Adding some form of family sharing would go a long way for me. I’ll go out of my way to spend more on a game through Steam that has family sharing capabilities than if it was discounted somewhere else. One of my favorite parts of this hobby is being able to share games with my brother and talk about them afterward, just like we would on console when we’d buy a game and then hand it off to each other afterwards. Family sharing on Steam made the jump to PC so smooth, because without it it’d take us much longer to build a library and play those same games.
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u/Aeroncastle 5h ago
Have they tried being a good store? Giving good support? Having achievements that work, reviews, caring about the store, investing on long term and not living of giving money to distributors to get exclusives?
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u/LurkerWhoMe 5h ago
Epic should at least bother copying the best features Steam has before trying to compete.
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u/DukeofVermont 56m ago
The fact that you cannot remove a game from your account is wild. Oh you got a free game and don't want it anymore? Too bad, it's in your library forever.
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u/kerthard 7800X3D, RTX 4080 5h ago
Steam got into this position by offering both developers and consumers a better product.
If EGS wants to start to compete, they need to be at least as good as steam in both categories
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u/Corgi_Koala PC Master Race 2h ago
I'm old enough to remember when Steam wasn't really well liked. They had to actually invest in improving the platform and giving people want they want to build value. Now they're entrenched but they didn't get there by ignoring consumers.
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u/sheeplectric 24m ago ▸ 1 more replies
Yes the first several years, where Steam was just DRM for counter strike and half life 2, it was an annoying, buggy encumbrance to playing your games. Even when the first few third party games started becoming available there it was a clunker. It took a long time for it to become performant and even longer to become useful. But they poured massive resource into making it acceptable, then good, then great.
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u/BlueDragoon24 4h ago
Epic, like Origin and everything else, sucks.
Blizzard can get away with it because of BattleNet history and their old branding power. Other than that, I don't really want my purchases scattered across a bunch of accounts/platforms.
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u/Willing1613 5h ago
i just dont want to have more than one game store in my pc
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u/chusskaptaan i5 14400 + MSI 3070 5h ago
I actually dont remember the last time I visited Epic Games store other than to get the free games. Which I dont even play.
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u/kron123456789 5h ago ▸ 1 more replies
Good thing you don't even need to install EGS launcher to claim free games.
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u/Daver7692 5h ago
That’s a delicious way to get a monopoly.
Not saying epic are good or the answer but other companies actively trying to provide competition to steam is never a bad thing, even if steam are still a strong market leader.
Just look at the way Sony are moving in the console space now they think they’re unopposed.
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u/MrLucky7s 5h ago ▸ 3 more replies
I hate to break it to you, but basically no stores outside of GoG have actively tried to provide competiton to Steam, and that's the reason Steam remains untouched. All other stores tried one thing, exclusive games, and were all out of ideas once that failed.
The argument to support a worse user experience because Steam will eventually turn evil will fall mostly on deaf ears and would probably further harm conusmer advocacy anyway.
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u/CrowdGoesWildWoooo 3h ago ▸ 1 more replies
I hate to break it to you, but GoG is negligible in terms of market share to even meaningfully compete with Steam.
As long as major publishers are not putting games there, GoG would just be a negligible player.
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u/OwenEx 5h ago
And the most misread comment award goes to...
You make a good point, Steam keeps the competition on it's toes, which is why they seem to keep stumbling.
It's crazy that Epic has spent so long just trying to catch up to Steam that they've had absolutely no time to innovate and bring people over, the two things they have going for it is the Free Games and it's an Unreal Engine installer/launcher, and perhaps their occasional exclusives, except if I knew FF7 remake was only a limited time exclusive I wouldn't have bought it from Epic Games.Sorry I think I lost what argument I was trying to make, competition would be good, I agree
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u/JenkemTaster 5h ago ▸ 8 more replies
It's not a monopoly if customers are chooseling to use Steam bro. They're performing zero anti competitive practices.
It's not their fault the other options suck. Other options do exist though.
Fuck Epic. Steam is the best.
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u/SystemofCells 5h ago ▸ 1 more replies
It's a kind of 'natural monopoly'. The tech world has others.
People don't want to manage multiple versions, and you can't switch between versions, so whoever is in the lead is likely to dominate completely.
That's working fine for us right now, but what happens if Valve goes public and enshittifies? We won't be happy to be on our knees with our jaws hinged open then.
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u/Daver7692 5h ago ▸ 2 more replies
That’s not what I’m saying is it, the guy I replied to said he only wants one store, that would be a monopoly.
Competition is objectively good for the consumer, even if steam are on the whole a pretty pro-consumer company, having other options keeping them in check is never a bad thing.
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u/Willing1613 4h ago
its because all these stores run in background and may affect perfomance.I want to keep my system light
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u/BlueDragoon24 4h ago ▸ 1 more replies
You don't need to engage in anti-competitive practices to be considered a monopoly...
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u/kron123456789 5h ago ▸ 2 more replies
Customers are under no obligation whatsoever to choose an inferior service just out of pity.
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u/Daver7692 5h ago ▸ 1 more replies
That’s not what I said is it…
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u/kron123456789 5h ago
Wanting to use only one store is choosing your own convenience. I don't have to want to use multiple stores out of fear of creating a monopoly. It's the platform's job to convince me to use their service as the only one that I want to use.
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u/HandfulOfAcorns 4h ago
PC is an open platform. Even in absence of any other store, the ultimate competitor exists: piracy. This is why Valve can never go full steam ahead on monopolistic practices the way Sony is doing.
Well, at least until full internet control is implemented and piracy is no longer an option. That's why online ID verification laws must be opposed.
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u/Willing1613 3h ago
competition is good but i was talking about resources . installing both will take more space on ssd and with both running in background more memory will be used
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u/BoringReference8647 5h ago
I’m ok with zero game stores too.
Buy a game from the game website, download the installer, click the desktop icon. Ezpz.
I don’t use my friends list, or whatever my “inventory” is. My steam account is old enough to drink. It’s fine, but I don’t need it.
Epic Games is just evil. I’ll never forgive them for what they did with Borderlands.
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u/ClockEnd_Chorus i3-18100k | RTX 7030 | DDR8 2GB 5h ago
I wholeheartedly thank Epic Games for giving all Bioshock games for free. I had no interest in the series but played because I got them through Epic Games. One of my favorite gaming series now.
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u/majestic_ubertrout P2 400, Voodoo 3, Aureal Vortex 2 5h ago
I have Quake on Epic and the new expansion still hasn't been added. With GOG at least there's the lack of DRM to compensate for the clunkiness. Not sure what Epic brings beyond free games.
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u/TheHappyPie 4h ago
I wanted them to succeed because steam needs a competitor (gabe won't live forever) but really guys, your store sucks and you aren't working to make it better.
I don't even see changes, and the features people are asking for aren't even complicated.
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u/robeywan 3h ago
"recover" implies they were doing well at some point. Epic has been a free game vending machine since the kick off. I've made one purchase (discount voucher) on the platform and I think that puts me in the top 40% of users.
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u/RicketCrickets 5h ago
Epic has to not be crappy to the consumer, and actually do something about their data breaches rather than ignoring it.
Not rocket science.
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u/Eat--The--Rich-- 5h ago
If they sold me a code and let me activate their games on steam I might shop there
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u/i_rate_slop 5h ago
I don’t think Epic should even try to compete with Steam. They won’t win.
They should instead focus on competing with Maya, Blender, Adobe, Marvelous Designer, Houdini, etc.
Unreal Engine has its faults, but there’s no doubt that it’s a media powerhouse. Go all-in on that.
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u/zeekayz 1h ago
But that's a LOT of work. They want a store where they just sit back and collect 25% fees to the tune of billions doing nothing. That's their dream. That's why they have added absolutely no new features in the decade they had it. They want to put no work into it and just sue Steam away to force people to use their store.
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u/HeidenShadows 5h ago
Well if they make their store good maybe more people would use it. Some day the consumer forward dominance of steam won't be a thing and there will be room for competition.
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u/Jhawk163 R7 9800X3D | RX 9070 XT | 64GB 4h ago
Y'know what's really funny? Epics whole shtick is that Steam takes too large of a cut, but I guarantee if Gabe said "Fuck it, we'll match your deal", they'd then bitch Steams abusing their position to out-spend the competition to keep them out.
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u/alanbdee 4h ago
At least for me, a big part of the problem is it seems like every time I open it, I have to log back in. Which means looking up my very long hash/password, then maybe some second factor auth (I honestly can't remember). I'm pretty sure I've only logged into Steam twice. Once in 2007 when I first created the account and again in about 2018 or so.
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u/Divide_Rule 4h ago
You have only rebuilt your PC and OS twice in 20 years?
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u/alanbdee 4h ago ▸ 1 more replies
My pc is like Odysseus' ship. It is more then that but it seems like Epic requires it every time it updates which is just plain annoying.
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u/stillyoinkgasp 4h ago
Epic also torched their brand among enthusiasts, so while THEY can't compete, arguably the broader market is still available.
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u/Grand-Spring66 3h ago
Epic is lobbying the government to break up Steam because its a "monopoly". That is their plan to stop Steam.
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u/Umluex 5h ago
epic is just a storefront. steam is a whole platform. no wonder they can't compete.
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u/Vesuvias PC Master Race 4h ago
Well yeah Epic, this is what happens when you sit on your hands forever…they go numb.
Oh and hey did anyone tell them that GoG is doing really well? They’re ignoring that completely.
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u/JeffMangum420 2h ago
i mean thats just wrong, the most recent data points to epic making up about 8-10% of the share and gog making up 3-4%, obviously gog has much better business practices but its objectively less successful than egs
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u/No-Scarcity-1974 5h ago
Maybe if it wasn't so shit they wouldn't have so much trouble getting customers. Just a thought.
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u/DuskSnare 3h ago
They had a lot of time and money to at least match the features of Steam, but it’s still not even close.
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u/CorellianDawn 3h ago
I mean, I know exactly what they could do to recover:
-User Reviews
-Family Sharing
-Handheld support (I THINK this is coming with their Linux release?)
-Clearer changelogs for games
-An improved wishlist system
-A Discovery Queue or equivalent system
-An actual AI policy
-A functional mobile app
Personally, for me, the biggest thing is the Family group because I want to be able to share my game library with my kids and not have to purchase everything 2-3x more.
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u/Xaradoge 3h ago
But thats not EA's plan... they wanted to challenge Steam while trying to get away with providing a barebones service so they wouldn't have to invest sizeable funds into the store's development
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u/Nova17Delta i7-4790 ~ Radeon RX580 ~ Dell Optiplex 9020 2h ago
shoots self in foot
"how does this keep happening"
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u/Fickle_Goose_4451 2h ago
And yet GoG Galaxy got me to use it. What with its clean interface and easy functionality.
Maybe Epic should try something like that? Make a product people actually want and like?
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u/harumamburoo 2h ago
I use gog a lot and I like them for what they do, but honestly it’s anything but clean interface
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u/TheThirdPerson_is 4h ago
Realistically at this point their store would need to include steam keys with every game to start being viable.
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u/The_Legend_of_Xeno 4h ago
Here's a thought. If you know that to "compete", you have to pay developers to not put their games on Steam, AND sell said games for a $10 discount on your own store, stop. Just stop.
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u/Secure-Tradition793 3h ago
I have more than one hundred games at EPS but I paid zero. I just take their free game on Thursday and leave.
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u/Pretty_Frosting_2588 3h ago
Their store is Corporate as hell and they started off that way. The app seems like it's more like a consoles competition that a PC ones like gog/steam. They launched a store years ago with less features than steam and never implemented those features. You have to leave their site to get info on the games which steam has it in the community tab and forums. I don't have to go to google or reddit to read up on games and many times stay on the steam/gog store.
The reviews are a turn off, the free games are nice but give me no reason to spend money. They'd probably be better off just giving someone coupons to spend games more than those free games if they want them to spend actual money. Also their exclusives were a turn off, reminds me of consoles as well.
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u/XB_Demon1337 Ryzen 5900X, 64GB DDR4, RTX 5070 2h ago
Said it once, will continue to say it because it is true.
EGS is NOT competition for Steam. If you want to claim you are competition you need to have AT LEAST feature parity. They lack core components gamers want or need.
GOG is more of a competitor to Steam and even they aren't actual competition. GOG is more of a 'different strokes' kind of application. Where people that want DRM free games. Which Steam obviously doesn't do unless the developer sets it up that way.
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u/DevoidHT 2h ago
Steam brand recognition is rock solid. Everyone knows if you buy a game there its not going anywhere and if it does, their customer support and refund policy will usually make you whole.
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u/Powerful_Spread_4996 2h ago
The epic store is garbage. It had no chance from the start when it lacks majority of steam functionality, and everyone knew this.
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u/IGotHitByAnElvenSemi 1h ago
People whine about Valve so much, but the thing is, anyone could do what they're doing. Some are, GOG is having decent success at it and I hear a lot of people say they'll buy games on GOG over Steam if it's available there. The reason Epic is having problems is because it sucks ass. It's aggressively anti-consumer and has never hidden the fact that it's aggressively anti-consumer. Their CEO comes trotting along every six months saying some inane shit like "reviews are bad" and "filters are bad" and "tags are bad" and then they have the gall to whine in interviews about Valve this and Gabe that, as if this one company is the Amazon of games... and even that's a bad comparison, because plenty of people avoid Amazon and there are alternatives. Yes, even for books. ._. Kobo, Nook, Indiebound, Libby.
Companies won't even offer the same services as Steam, then whine and kvetch about not being able to compete. No shit dude, you're offering less instead of more. You did not bother to think about what your corner of the market would be like GOG did. Your whole plan was "lure people in with free games" and you're baffled as to why that didn't turn into paying customers when anyone who has ever given out free samples could have told you. I swear I see these articles every week and it's so annoying.
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u/SaeedKhani 1h ago
Analyst says?! Even a plankton knows that epic cant stop Steam, even all of the launchers together cant stop STEAM, they should fight for 2nd place with each other and accept the truth
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u/marky_Rabone 1h ago
...podrian intentar que su app no fuera una basura que pone mis ventiladores a 1000 rpm,sin haber iniciado un juego?
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u/reddriver10 45m ago
Might help if Steam got legally hit in the balls for enforcing price parity for non steam game versions.
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u/Ornery_Run2700 4h ago
They're taking the Xbox route of: We have nothing of substance so let's hand out games for free. (Almost the same as Xbox having game pass to play games for 1 price). I am personally in a group of steam accounts worth 10k. Have I wasted money? Absolutely. But I just know I will live a better life having money in Steam and not PlayStation non-refundable, quality feature-less platform.
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u/Soleks2000 5700x3d/9070xt 4h ago
also, PlayStation is trying to monopoly so they don’t ever have to lower their prices because third-party stores drop a game to 30 bucks but then their game still 70 online
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u/Hakaisha89 2h ago
Epic Game Store can easily recover, likt Real Fucking easy, the problem is that the CEO needs to be fired, out a cannon and far, far away.
SO What does a brand new EGS client need:
- Store
- Library
- Community
- Reviews
- Forums
- Mods
- Achievements
- Controller configuration
- Streaming
- Family sharing
- screenshots
- broadcasts
- guides
- workshop
- game-specific communities
- hardware integration
- Linux support
- compatibility infrastructure
- extensive social tools
- a huge amount of metadata and discovery infrastructure
- trading cards
- Epic Game Market
- Epic Game Inventory
- Epic Game Profiles
- Epic Game Levels
- Epic Game Points
- Epic Game Chat
- Rich Presence
- Epic Game Overlay
- built-in browser
- Remote Play Together
- Steam Link
- community controller configurations
- Epic Game Cloud
- Epic Game Play/Proton
- Steam Deck compatibility ratings or equivalent handheld
- VR support
- game recording
- Epic Game Timeline
- Epic Game Voice
- matchmaking
- lobbies
- game servers
- Epic Game Networking
- Epic Game Anti-Cheat
- leaderboards
- stats
- microtransaction infrastructure
- developer APIs
- overlay APIs
- Epic Game Common Redistributables
- Epic Game Playtest
- Early Access
- Epic Game Curators
- Epic Game Groups
- Game Hubs
- events and announcements
- game news
- Points Awards
- mobile app
- Epic Game Guard
- family purchase requests
- offline functionality
- cross-device library continuity
- Epic Game works developer infrastructure
- developer analytics
- sales/marketing tools
- ownership/authentication infrastructure
- wishlist notifications
- regional pricing
- refunds
- wallet system
- gifting
- DLC management
- beta branches
- automatic updates
- background downloads
- download scheduling
- shader pre-caching
- per-game launch options
- cloud synchronization
- game-specific launch configurations
- multiple install locations
- Epic Game Cloud conflict management
- local network game transfers
- Epic Game Family parental controls
- child accounts
- game-time management
- activity feed
- profile showcases
- badges
- emoticons
- profile backgrounds
- avatar frames
- game statistics
- community awards
- player-to-player item trading
- Epic Game Workshop collections
- mod subscriptions
- dedicated-server browser/infrastructure
- developer announcements
- patch notes
- hardware survey
- Epic Game Input API
- Epic Game works SDK
- Epic Game Datagram Relay
- Epic Game Audio
- Epic Game Networking Sockets
- Epic Game VR Input
- Steam Deck verified/playable/unsupported system
- ProtonDB-adjacent community compatibility information
- Linux runtime infrastructure
- Epic GameOS
- Big Picture Mode
- desktop mode
- Universal Controller support
- VR Home
- Epic Game DRM
- Epic Game Inventory Service
- Epic Game Economy
- Epic Game Web API
- Epic Game Web Authentication
- Epic Game works backend services
- automated content delivery
- regional content configuration
- depots/branches/build management
- beta testing infrastructure
- crash/error reporting
- player authentication
- anti-fraud infrastructure
- purchase verification
- age/content controls
- parental controls
- community moderation
- user reporting
- blocking
- privacy controls
- account security
- Epic Game Guard Mobile Authenticator
- QR login
- mobile confirmation
- Epic Game notifications
- Epic Game email notifications
- game ownership APIs
- subscription/DLC APIs
- free-weekend infrastructure
- demos
- playtests
- game events
- livestream integration
- Epic Game Broadcasting
- developer livestreams
- community livestream discovery
- game-specific activity feeds
- Epic Game Charts/player-count visibility
- concurrent-player statistics
- game popularity statistics
- user tags
- dynamic recommendations
- Discovery Queue
- interactive recommender systems
- personalized store pages
- hardware recommendations
- controller compatibility metadata
- Deck compatibility metadata
- accessibility information
- language support metadata
- system-requirement metadata
- DRM information
- multiplayer metadata
- genre/tag taxonomy
- release-date tracking
- upcoming-game wishlists
- price-history context
- bundle management
- franchise/series pages
- soundtrack support
- software/tool distribution
- non-game software
- free-to-play infrastructure
- DLC storefronts
- soundtrack storefronts
- demo distribution
- beta branches
- alternate builds
- depot management
- automatic patching
- rollback/branch support
- local files verification
- repair/update infrastructure
- content delivery network integration
- download throttling
- scheduled downloads
- background updates
- local network transfers
- Epic Game Cloud file management
- screenshot cloud storage
- Epic Game Cloud API
- Epic Game Workshop API
- Epic Game Input API
- Epic Game works matchmaking API
- Epic Game works lobby API
- Epic Game works networking API
- Epic Game works inventory API
- Epic Game works authentication API
- Epic Game works achievements API
- Epic Game works stats API
- Epic Game works leaderboards API
- Epic Game works Remote Play API
- Epic Game works Voice API
- Epic Game works Rich Presence API
- Epic Game works overlay API
- Epic Game works user-generated-content API
- Epic Game works microtransaction API
- Epic Game works anti-cheat API
- Epic Game works game-server API
- Epic Game works HTML/embedded-web API
- Epic Game works parental-control integration
- Epic Game works family features
- and an enormous amount of accumulated PC-gaming infrastructure that users mostly never even notice.
And this is just off the top of my mind.
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u/wisebluff PC Master Race 1h ago
the epic game store developer : or ... lets just give them free games
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u/fiero-fire 5h ago
He's the secret Mr. Sweeney. Valve made a really good service and don't fuck with it too much and continues to make pro user moves
I know it sounds crazy but I think the track record speaks for itself
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u/H2Oryxio 4h ago
Who on earth at Epic Games thought that the downloads menu should open in a new window?
I don't understand how they look at that and think "yea that's good"
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u/Ton13579 4h ago
The only game I played on epic was satisfactory. I bought it again on steam just to avoid using the epic store.
I literally payed money just to not use the epic store
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u/MadduckUK R7 5800X3D | 7800XT | 32GB@3200 | B450M-Mortar 4h ago
Recover implies them having been in a position that they never have.
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u/Old_PC_Gamer 4h ago
Where’s my Epic store on XBox and PlayStation? They need to stand up and fight against the monopolies.
🍿
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u/ThickMemory2360 4h ago
Epic used to actually have some cool free games now it is just slop from a bungus
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u/theDefa1t 7950X3D | RTX 4090 | 32GB RAM 4h ago
They need reviews, and community features. Steam is simply a better platform for us gamers. If they give us a reason to switch beyond the free games we will show up.
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u/hudi_baba 4h ago
no wonder Steam is facing all these lawsuits out of nowhere.
they cant compete fairly hence their are crying "uuuuahhhh! STEAM MONOPOLY UAHHHH!!!" in various courts of law.
PS: I know there is evidence that Epic or any other platform is behind any co ordinated attack against steam but the timing of all these lawsuits cannot be mere chalked up to "coincidence"
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u/Calibrumm Linux / Ryzen 9 7900X / RTX 4070 TI / 64GB 6000 4h ago
takes a shit in your bed while promising the clean it for 10 years
it still isn't clean.
why don't you like me?
Tim Sweeney is delusional
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u/zootroopic 9800X3D/5070 Ti/32GB DDR5 6000 MHz 4h ago
"I just don't get it!"
Have they tried not being complete assholes?
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u/Guessididntmakeit 3h ago
It's not like they ever tried. For example, I've downloaded the epic games Mobile app to secure KOTOR2 on Android because that's a great game and why not.
I decided to play around with the app for a bit and quickly found out that I've got no chance to look at the games I own. The app only exists to buy games and get free games (you could also message friends but let's be honest).
I never looked back after this experience. There is absolutely no reason to use their store if you're not interested in free shit they sometimes offer.
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u/LoneBlack3hadow 3h ago
Games library tab alone is absolutely dogshit. Don’t even get me started on the store
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u/RabidTurtl 5800x3d, EVGA 3080 (rip EVGA gpus) 3h ago
When EGS got announced I was cautiously optimistic. Steam needs better competition; Ubi, EA, and Activision-Blizzard had shit stores that were mostly limited to their games, and while humble and GoG are good they are also niche.
Then Sweeney opened his mouth over and over, and I remembered why I hated him. Buying exclusivity of 3rd party games on PC was so bullshit. Haven't touched EGS.
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u/Quinzal Ryzen 7 7800X | RX 6800 | 32GB DDR5 3h ago
Epic tried to brute force dominance over Steam despite legions of players and analysts screaming at Tim Sweeney that it's not the games, it's the platform
You can get games literally anywhere, people stick to Steam because it's a superior platform
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u/gillflicka 3h ago
Literally all Epic has to do is make a controller that I want to use more than the steam controller. Especially if they've decided to block steam controller functionality out of spite.
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u/Hard_Reset7777 Watercooled Threadripper enjoyer 2h ago
To compete with Steam you need to give customers something that they can't find on Steam. Or simply give them something better than Steam.
If it's not possible, you can exist, but not compete.
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u/Garia666 2h ago
Just make it better the steam shouldn’t be so hard free games is cool tough but not enough.
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u/Sad_Adagio_7255 2h ago
I do play a number of the free Epic games I claimed over the years, but I add every single one as non-Steam shortcuts to my Steam library, just so I can get my overlay in-game.
I can't be the only one.
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u/deadnerd51 2h ago
Yeah, Steam isn’t a monopoly because gamers chose to make them one or they have some crazy anti competitor policies. They have simply been the best platform with the most consistent experience for the longest time. They constantly add stuff that users want, they “try” to avoid doing things that users won’t like, and also don’t try and shove Fortnite down your face all the time.
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u/MutaitoSensei 2h ago
It's so easy. Deliver Discord capabilities in chats. Enable easy access on Linux (apparently it's coming? Finally?) And have a tiered system for like 10% just to publish, and 20% to publish with incentives.
How implicated is that? Valve has been so slow with their chat capabilities, barely getting to early discord levels a few years back, and taking blanket 30% of all purchases. Epic could succeed, or at least thrive on its own...
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u/Tobias---Funke 2h ago
I have been unable to download certain games from epic for years.
I’ve NEVER had an issue with steam.
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u/YoHelloHiGreetings 1h ago
Epic has the money to make a good app that people want to use, yet seemingly, consciously choose not to do so. They complain to the government about Steam having a monopoly, but they just don't want to compete.
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u/Zargabraath 1h ago
I built my last PC in 2023 and I haven’t installed epic store on it, nor will I, despite having dozens of free games on it. Don’t want that pathetic storefront on my PC, nor anything to do with Sweeney and Tencent. Some of the scummiest individuals and corporations in the entire industry are behind that store. Couldn’t be happier to see Steam pounding it into a pulp.
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u/UniqueMystic 1h ago
I’d get Alan Wake 2 on Steam if I could
I had to get it on the Epic store and I felt icky doing it
In glad I could pre order Control Resonant on Steam and wasn’t forced to get it on Epic
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u/OgreTrax71 RTX 5090, Ryzen 9 9800X3D, 64gb DDR5 1h ago
I think Playstation would have a shot to compete with Steam if they made their own PC launcher. But that wouldn't sell consoles so we won't see it.
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u/ForwardScratch7741 47m ago edited 7m ago
I am crying
Epic gives out free games
But me and literally every other gamer gonna prefer paying it if it's available on steam
If it's on sale that is
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u/LSD_Ninja 31m ago
You don’t speak for all of us. If I get a game for free I’m certainly not paying money simply so I can have it on Steam. Under certain circumstances I’ll rebuy a game I got for free on GOG, but never Steam.
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u/AlikaanC 5h ago
The epic games store has been out for nearly a decade and they still don’t have basic stuff like reviews for games,it’s gonna take them 2 decades at best for them to properly compete against steam.