All articles tagged with #epic games store
Newzoo's Emmanuel Rosier says Epic Games Store's overhaul is unlikely to topple Steam, arguing the platform’s dominance is too entrenched and free-game giveaways rarely build lasting engagement; Epic's broad platform push hasn’t yielded a convincing storefront win, though Fortnite remains a bright spot.
Remedy reports Alan Wake 2 has sold over 3 million copies in the January–June period, making it the studio’s fastest-selling game and helping move toward profitability after a slow start; PC remains Epic Games Store exclusive, which may have limited Steam sales. Despite the milestone, Remedy warns of declines in revenue, profit, and cash flow as it funds Control Resonant and other projects, with three titles in development, including Control Resonant due Sept. 24 on PC/PS5/Xbox Series X/S and the Max Payne remakes plus an unannounced project.
A backend update on the Epic Games Store hints at multiple DLCs for Final Fantasy VII Revelation, including a Story Expansion Pass, fueling talk of a major story add-on for the trilogy's finale. While Remake and Rebirth delivered smaller extras, the leak leaves the exact contents uncertain; director Naoki Hamaguchi previously suggested fans want more but did not commit to DLC, and Revelation is slated for spring 2027, with chatter about a possible next-gen version featuring new story chapters if demand remains high.
Tim Sweeney, in a PC Gamer interview, pushes a 'Team Open' concept to unify social and identity layers across Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC storefronts, arguing that cross-platform connectivity would reduce friction for players; he likens it to the early email standard, but critics note that services like Discord already offer similar functionality and question the feasibility and business implications of uniting rival ecosystems.
Epic Games Store unveils a year-long roadmap to add basic features long missing—personalized homepages, more detailed game pages, patch notes, user reviews, and improved discovery—along with a private beta for the launcher; the plan follows layoffs earlier in the year and comes with skepticism about progress, even as Unreal Engine 6 promises generative AI.
Epic Games announced a ground-up rebuild of the Epic Games Store launcher at Unreal Fest, aiming for a major performance boost with cold starts up to 5x faster and faster restores from the system tray (about 6.5x). The overhaul replaces much of the underlying architecture, with Launcher V2 entering private beta as “Up First” and a public release “Up Next” on the roadmap, alongside storefront improvements; no concrete timelines were provided.
Forgotlings, a 2D cinematic side-scrolling action-adventure from Throughline Games and Hitcents, will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series on June 18, with the PC version also releasing on Epic Games Store and GOG after its Steam debut on February 17. The game features a semi-open Metroidvania world, full voice acting, hand-drawn animation, and a story about Fig, a gifted puppeteer captain of a sentient ship, uniting forgotten tribes against a looming threat.
Fumito Ueda unveiled Gen Atlas, a single‑player open‑world sci‑fi adventure from genDESIGN, coming to the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with no release date yet.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will not release on Xbox PC or Xbox Play Anywhere; Daybreak says the PC release will be limited to Steam and the Epic Games Store. The move fuels a broader debate about whether developers are shifting toward Steam/EGS rather than Microsoft’s Xbox PC store, amid concerns about organic adoption of Xbox PC and hints of a major store overhaul as Microsoft tries to strengthen its PC gaming presence.
A Los Angeles Times report, citing two former Epic Games Store employees, says players chase free games on Epic but quickly return to Steam, while the storefront remains profitable but is derided for rushed releases and a growth-at-all-costs approach. Epic reports 78 million MAU and $400 million earned from non-Epic titles in 2025, is pushing a unified PC/mobile storefront, pursues major bets like a Disney extraction shooter, and has cut more than 1,000 jobs, prompting questions about its long-term strategy.
Disney has removed 15 additional games from Steam (following 14 earlier this year), including Star Wars: Dark Forces, Outlaws + A Handful of Missions, and Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier. The reason isn’t clear but may involve licensing and timing. A $1.5 billion Epic Games investment has prompted speculation that Disney titles could become Epic Games Store exclusives, though nothing is confirmed. Some observers also point to Marvel layoffs as a potential factor.
Two former Epic Games Store employees say the platform’s free-game promotions sparked an initial surge in users, but most players eventually migrated back to Steam, even as Steam logged record concurrent players (about 42 million) and Bloomberg reported Epic’s PC MAU at around 78 million. The piece notes that many users juggle multiple storefronts and that Epic pays developers less per sale than Steam, highlighting ongoing competition between PC game stores.
CI Games has approved a capital raise that could be used to buy Epic’s PC exclusivity for Lords of the Fallen 2, and the CEO’s activity on social media has sparked speculation of a Steam (and possibly GOG) release, suggesting the game may launch on Steam day one or after a timed Epic exclusive.
Horses developer Santa Ragione publicly disputes Epic Games Store’s claim that the game violated content rules, saying Epic has effectively ghosted the studio after withdrawing distribution. Epic maintains the game breached its Content Guidelines and rated it AO, a category the store doesn’t distribute; Santa Ragione counters that the game should not receive an AO rating and notes Epic hasn’t shared an AO IARC certificate or details. The back-and-forth follows previous bans from Epic and Steam and highlights friction between indie developers and storefront moderation.
Epic Games Store posted a 57% year-over-year rise in third-party game revenue to over $400 million in 2025, with total store spend at $1.16 billion and December monthly active users reaching a record 78 million; third-party time spent rose, while total store hours declined 14% as the platform expands its catalog beyond first-party titles, aided by a free games program that drove engagement.