The Epic Games Store is a digital video game store for Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. Launched in December 2018, the store is mainly known for giving away free games, even some AAA titles every week. This article will share some information about the Epic Games Store, its features, its competition in the market, and much more.

THE BACK END

Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. Tim Sweeney founded the company as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents’ house in Potomac, Maryland. They launched their digital game store on the 18th of December 2028, representing a real attempt to break Steam’s dominance over the digital game store scene.

THE GAME LIBRARY

The store has some good AAA titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding, but it lacks other major titles. Epic Games produces its own games like Battle Breakers and Unreal Tournament. Epic Games recently bought Rocket League’s developers so that you can get a free copy of the game on the store. Some Epic Games Store exclusive games like John Twin Mirror and Rogue Company which you can only get via their store.

PURCHASING

The store has a simple interface that makes it easy to navigate. You can allow game downloads during you play any other game, just like in steam, and you can also throttle download. The store has Self-service refunds. The games you buy are eligible for a refund within 14 days of purchase for any reason. But, you must not have played for more than 2 hours. Epic doesn’t apply any digital rights management (DRM), but individual publishers can add their own copyright protection forms.

FEATURES

The store has many features, but it doesn’t have some of the basic features you expect from a digital store. For example, there are no user reviews, curators to follow, or forums to discuss different games. You can add games to a wish list, but you can’t add multiple items to a shopping cart. But, you can add friends for free on Epic Games Store nevertheless. The store will release some new features like achievements, more payment methods, preview on hover, and much more. The store’s future developments will be user profiles, user reviews, a shopping cart, and an Android app.

THE UNREAL ENGINE

Apart from the games, the company also produces the Unreal Engine. A game engine that lets developers create their game as they want. You can download the latest version of the engine for free under the Unreal Engine section in the store. You can browse a marketplace for resources like AI systems, 3D assets, and lighting models. The Unreal Engine section offers plenty of educational material too. The steam offers its own game engine, too, but you can’t easily access the Source Engine through the store, except the free Source Filmmaker software. Epic Games Store is more ambitious in providing developers with more resources than its major competitor, Steam.

STORE’S COMPETITORS

Let’s talk about some of the store’s competitors: Steam, GOG, itch.io, Xbox PC app, and Humble Bundle. But for now, let’s talk about Epic Game Store’s major, Valve’s Steam. Steam has a huge game library, built-in tools, remote play and remote downloads, and the big picture mode. When it comes to purchasing games, most people in the gaming community have only one picture in their head, Steam. However, Steam games come with digital rights management (DRM). You get 100 points for every $1 you spend, from which you can redeem profile backgrounds, avatar, and its frames, badges, and much more under Steam Points Shop right beside the Catagory column to cosmetically customize your profile. The steam has a marketplace for in-game items, community forums, workshops, while all you can do in Epic Games Store is make friends for free, unlike Steam. Looking at the positive side, Epic Games Store has an 88/12 revenue cute, which means the developers of the game gets 12% from the sale price of the video game, whereas steam takes 30% share, 25% after $10M sales, and 20% after $50M sales. Epic Games prove a great help to developers in finance because most of the stores out there have a 3:7 cut. Epic Games Store also has the easily accessible Unreal Engine, as discussed above, which provide tools for various artist and developers, and the steam also has its own Source Engine.

THE GOOD

• Gives away free games every week
• Has no DRM
• Has its own few exclusive games
• Has resources for Unreal Engine developer

THE BAD

CONCLUSION

Epic Games Store has its pros and cons. Epic Games Store is for you if you want a marketplace where you can get games for free, with a decent and simple interface and transactions. Free games, Unreal Engine, and no DRM are pretty good. But if you want a hardcore gaming experience with communities and some high-end features, Steam is all you want, and Epic Games Store doesn’t satisfy the community’s major needs.