There was an interesting statement recently with regards to the Epic Games Store and it’s something that has provoked further discussion about the place of both the Epic Games Store itself and Steam in the PC marketplace. As part of yet another trial that Epic are pursuing, this time with Google, Steve Allison, the General Manager of the Epic Games Store, stated that the Epic Games Store has yet to make any profit after almost five years of operating! Of course, this news should be shocking but it’s actually not that surprising based on previous information. Nonetheless, it’s been interesting hearing people, at least the reasonable ones, discuss their thoughts on the matter and I thought I might share what I think are the real reasons why the Epic Games Store is failing as well as its place in the market.
Let’s start by breaking down the problems that the Epic Games Store is facing. Despite having revenues of over $800 million, the amount of money that Epic is spending on it, alongside the fact that they only get a 12% cut of $355 million of that figure, is resulting in a net loss and, from what I’ve heard, a staggering one at that. These expenditures, beyond the standard such as maintenance, wages etc., mostly revolve around the acquisition of timed exclusives, the weekly handout of free games and, now, their own publishing label where they fund games for longer term or permanent rights.
It’s also worth mentioning two things that happened lately when it comes to Epic Games and their store. Back in September, Epic announced that they were going to be laying off around 830 employees, approximately 16% of the company, due to “spending way more money than we earn.” When mentioning their spending of money, it’s hard not to think of the Epic Games Store and the fact that it has continually lost money over the course of its five years of existence. However, surrounding these layoffs were two interesting initiatives that, while somewhat sensible, stink of desperation. The first, announced in August, is Epic First Run, a program that’ll see Epic Games waive their 12% cut for the first six months of a new games release on the Epic Games Store so long as it doesn’t release on a competitor’s third-party store during that time. The second, announced in October, is Now on Epic, a program that’ll see Epic Games waive their 12% cut for the first six months on games, previously released on other stores, on the Epic Games Store as long as at least three or, failing that, all of their games are brought over. While I understand the logic of these moves, I can’t help but view them sceptically, particularly with the layoffs sandwiched in between the announcements of them.
All throughout the lifetime of the store, Epic have been obsessed with acquiring exclusive content as well as handing out free games in an effort to buildup their market share but there is a very simple question that they’ve neglected to ask, even actively turned away from, and that is “What do the gamers want out of our store?” For all of the comparisons that are made between the Epic Games Store and Steam, the features of each are quite often overlooked. While the Epic Games Store has slowly, and I mean SLOWLY, added features over the years such as achievements, cloud saves and, yes, a shopping cart, Steam continues to stay one step ahead of them with their community market, far more in-depth user reviews, better mod support etc. In fact, Steam has even upgraded their overlay recently so that players can make game notes, bring up guides and more while keeping them visible during gameplay at an opacity set by the player!
The argument has been made that Epic needed exclusives in order to draw players away from their library on Steam and, to some degree, there’s a point there. As lazy as it may sound, players want the minimum amount of work when it comes to playing their games and switching between launchers, while quite simple, introduces a road bump to their leisure which may prove too much effort. However, the main issue that people have with the Epic Games Store is the lack of helpful features compared to playing on Steam. Besides their free game handouts, they don’t even have a gimmick. At least GOG.com, another notable PC game store, releases games DRM-free, something that some people really desire. As it stands now, I struggle to see a future where the Epic Games Store is profitable unless they make sweeping changes. If they truly want players to like using their store then they need to work harder and more aggressively on improving it. Otherwise, players are going to continue to regard it as a hindrance and, at best, use it for the free games alone.
Let me know your thoughts on the real reasons why the Epic Games Store is failing, whether you use the Epic Games Store, what you think of it, how you think it could be improved, whether you see the Epic Games Store as being a viable competitor someday and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.