Epic Games Store has grown massively, but it has trained users to never buy anything — is Xbox PC going down the same path?

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Despite criticism online, especially on Reddit, the Epic Games Store has been gaining users. Between 2019 and 2024, the platform saw a 173% increase in its user base, growing from 108 million to over 295 million.

Okay, so Epic’s been getting a *lot* more users, which is awesome! But honestly, it’s a little frustrating to see that hasn’t really turned into more sales. Their revenue from game developers only went up by 1.6% in the same period, meaning most of these new players aren’t actually buying games *through* the Epic Games Store. It’s like they’re visiting, but not opening their wallets, you know?

The Epic Game Store problem

The Epic Games Store is Epic’s attempt to compete with Steam, which is the most popular platform for buying PC games. Steam is favored by many players because it’s reliable and easy to use.

Steam wasn’t always the popular platform it is today. When it first came out in the early 2000s, people were very critical of it, but that’s a story for another time.

The Epic Games Store opened in 2018 with a plan to compete with Steam. Initially, it tried to attract developers by offering them a larger percentage of sales and securing exclusive game releases. However, this didn’t really appeal to players, so Epic has changed its strategy, though it still offers developers a better share of the revenue.

Epic focused on offering free games to attract people to its platform. While this was successful in getting users to sign up, it also meant many, including myself, would only visit the store to grab free games and then leave, rather than browse or buy.

It’s tempting to criticize the Epic Games Store, but it generally hasn’t provided as good an experience as Steam. When it first launched, it lacked many essential features, and even though Epic has been adding them over time, some users feel the improvements came too late to make a difference.

Epic Games added features like reviews in 2022 and wishlists and achievements in 2021. Some features, like gifting and messaging, weren’t available until 2025 – in fact, messaging was brought back after being removed four years prior. Even now, Epic still lacks features many users want, such as family sharing and mod support, and that’s just the beginning of what’s missing.

Is this an Xbox PC problem as well?

The Epic Games Store and Xbox PC have some things in common – they both try to compete with Steam and both are missing some of Steam’s features. However, that’s pretty much where their similarities stop.

It’s tempting to criticize Microsoft, but the Xbox app’s success isn’t based on free games – it relies on people paying for Game Pass subscriptions. PC Game Pass has grown by 45% in the last year, proving that many users are actively engaged and willing to pay for the service, rather than just grabbing freebies and moving on.

I’ve been looking at spending habits of gamers, and while my focus is on PC, it’s clear console players are eager to spend money, particularly on shooting games. Even though PlayStation seems to be selling about three times as much hardware as Xbox, Xbox gamers still show up in force when certain games come out. You can find more details on that trend here.

Similar to Epic Games, Xbox is making big investments in creating a unified experience across all its devices – including cloud, consoles, and PCs. Eventually, Xbox hopes to create hardware that combines the best features of both consoles and PCs, allowing players to access their games from both Xbox and Steam in a single library. This future vision is what keeps me invested in the Xbox platform, as it promises a more adaptable and open experience compared to platforms that tend to repeat the same patterns with each new generation.

The future of PC gaming is Steam for now

PC gamers have been happy with Steam for years. It’s always been reliable and puts players first, so there hasn’t been much incentive to switch. That’s probably why Xbox and Epic are now concentrating on building their own separate platforms instead of trying to compete directly with Steam.

Xbox’s new hardware is anticipated to work with several game stores, like Steam and Epic. Epic, however, is taking a different approach by embracing things Steam doesn’t, such as games using NFTs, and openly encouraging the use of artificial intelligence in game creation. Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, has also voiced criticism of Steam’s requirement for developers to reveal when they’ve used AI tools.

It used to seem impossible for Epic Games and Xbox to compete in the same space, but now it feels like they can coexist, and that’s perfectly acceptable. Neither platform is expected to significantly challenge Steam’s dominance, and honestly, they don’t need to in order to be successful on PC.

My own habits show how things stand with Epic Games Store. I still check it for free games, but I mostly play titles I already own on Steam and Xbox, and often don’t even think about Epic. That doesn’t mean Epic is failing – it actually made over $1.09 billion in 2024. However, Steam earned $1.6 billion in just one month, December. Epic doesn’t need to become as big or popular as Steam to still be a thriving business.

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2026-01-13 15:41