Epic Games is known for Fortnite these days, but did you know it also has a big PC gaming store?
If you’re reading this, I’m guessing the answer is yes, but it’s no secret that it’s often unfairly dismissed in gaming discourse.
Epic players actually are buying games, as the firm doubles down on “free”
In its annual report, Epic Games described a store that is steadily growing, despite claims to the contrary. Allison explained that spending on third-party games was up 57%, hitting $400 million last year for Epic, despite the fact the industry overall is in a bit of a tough spot. Epic noted that its growth figures do not include first-party payment solutions. Some stores, like Apple’s iOS, actively try to restrict games and app platforms from directing users to their own payment solutions. Epic does not, which allows companies to retain a bigger chunk of their revenue. Usage on third-party games also grew by 4%, hitting roughly 3 billion playtime hours.
Epic also hailed its free games program, noting that developers see huge uplift when a game is free via its store, even on other platforms. We’ve heard similar from Microsoft when games are included in Xbox Game Pass — the boosted access seems to lead to an increase in virality for some titles, even on other stores. Epic sees this as a feature, not a bug.
“We take it very seriously,” Allison says about its free games program. “The team loves to highlight games that they think are awesome, that may have been underserved or missed by players.” Epic says that the free games it offers often see anywhere up to a 40% uplift on Steam and console platforms, driving interest and helping developers find new fans. But how does it help Epic itself?
“We bring in like 10 million new players a year through the program. It’s very consistent. It’s the best customer acquisition spend you can ever make, from a dollers-per-new-user standpoint,” Allison explained. “It’s really important for our players. I would never want to see us rug pull it away from people, it’s kind of part of our identity.”
Epic sees opportunity with Xbox’s strategy, too, as it prioritizes user feedback
Epic, like Microsoft, is trying to build a PC store that competes directly with Steam, and potentially each other. Despite this, Epic and Microsoft have collaborated fairly extensively in symbiosis. Epic depends on Windows, as does Xbox.
“We’re ripping out the underlying architecture,” Allison says of the Epic Games Store, hinting at a big revamp for the near future. “We’re well aware of complaints, that the launcher can be slow to load, library taking up system resources — all these things will be profoundly improved when we ship this thing. It’s coming in May or June. I saw a demo last week, the difference is significant.”
Epic is also working on improving text chats between its games and platforms, bringing it inline with other services like Steam, Battle.net and Xbox. Epic is also working on community tooling features, such as forums.
On Xbox, Epic is also aware of the rumors. The next Xbox is a PC in essence, and thusly, will feature Steam, GOG, and indeed any PC store you want to install.
The next Xbox will have a layered interface to make Windows 11 more intuitive for controllers and TV sets, but it does require some leg work on developers’ part to truly optimize for. Steam has its big picture TV mode, and Xbox has its Full Screen Experience mode. Epic is investigating these new opportunities as well.
“We’ve been talking about a bunch of these things,” Allison tells me. “We’ve been talking to the folks at Microsoft. If they do follow through with allowing Steam and the Epic Games Store on the next generation of Xbox console hardware, we will be there. I’m fairly certain that’ll require us to build an app that functions there.”
Allison added that a fully Xbox Full Screen Experience-optimized Epic Games Store is not in the schedule right now, but is frequently talked about. “I expect we’ll end up doing that. I can’t commit because we’re in the middle of these big projects. I’m a big, big fan. I’ve bought every version of the ROG Ally, including the new Xbox Ally. It’s awesome to be able to play both Steam and Epic Games Store games on one device. We do need to build for it, it probably won’t happen this year. Maybe next year.”
Epic deserves a lot of credit
Epic Games is something of a controversial company. The CEO’s … interesting opinions often provoke controversy, and the way the firm has upended the entire gaming industry with Fortnite has been a both a blessing and a curse, depending on who you ask. Epic also did shut down Unreal Tournament, for which I will remain personally salty about …
However, the many positives Epic has brought to the industry can’t be denied. Epic has wielded Fortnite like a blunt object to drive iOS and Google to open up its mobile platforms for all developers, not just itself. The firm has some of the most generous revenue splits of any sales platform, and drove Xbox to follow suit with a similar cut on the Microsoft Store for PC. Epic is also removing all revenue sharing up to the first $1 million dollars, helping small and new developers find their footing.
Gaming has increasingly shifted towards “games as a platform,” with Fortnite and Roblox at the top of the mountain. Epic could’ve cut itself off from the wider games industry. But, unlike Roblox, Epic has used Fortnite to try and promote “traditional” PC games to its vast and younger-skewing audience via the Epic Games Store. I think Epic deserves a ton of credit for that, in an era where games like Roblox would probably prefer the rest of the games industry straight up didn’t exist.
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