How the Epic Games Store Works

January 11, 2024, 11:34 am | Read time: 4 minutes

Alongside Steam, the Epic Games Store is one of the major gaming platforms. TECHBOOK explains the pros and cons.

Gamers, in particular, can hardly avoid Epic Games anymore. The development studio is one of the largest companies in the video game industry, known primarily for its gaming platform, the “Epic Games Store.” TECHBOOK explains the features the platform offers.

What exactly is the Epic Games Store?

The Epic Games Store is both a marketplace for video games and a launcher to start them. This means users can buy, install, and immediately play their games here. The advantage is that the entire process can be done from home, without needing to go to a store to buy games on disc and manually install them. Additionally, there are regular automatic updates and patches that improve the game and potentially offer new content.

Since 2018, Epic Games has offered games from various studios through its store, while also providing its own exclusive titles. For many years, Steam was considered the leader in the video game industry, but now Epic Games is one of the biggest competitors, especially because of its exclusive titles like “Fortnite,” “Borderlands 3,” and “Hogwarts Legacy.”

When a user buys a game through the Epic Games Store, the developing studio receives the majority of the money but must give a portion to the platform. However, with its new “Epic First Run” program, Epic Games aims to overshadow its competitor Steam. In this six-month program, the developer studio receives 100 percent of the net revenue, and the game is offered as an exclusive title. After the exclusive period ends, the revenue is shared again, and the game can appear on other platforms.

Also interesting: The best alternatives to the Steam gaming platform

Comparison How Does the Gaming Platform Steam Work and What Are the Best Alternatives?

Valve has firmly established itself on the handheld market with its Steam Deck

Handheld Console from Valve Valve Steam Deck — Functions, Advantages, and Evaluation

Features offered by Epic Games

Reviews: Users can not only buy and play games, but the platform also allows them to leave reviews for the offered titles. Occasionally, there are small surveys to gauge user opinions on various titles. The results of these surveys are then displayed under the game. Only verified online magazines like IGN and GamesRadar+ can review the games offered by Epic Games. Unfortunately, there are no community discussions similar to Steam, so discussions about the games are only possible privately or in forums.

Games can also be reviewed in the Epic Games Store

Friends List: There is an option to add other players to your friends list by searching for a player by their username and sending them a friend request. They must accept the request, and then you can play Epic Games’ multiplayer games together. Players can not only be added to the friends list but also removed or even blocked.

Discount Promotions: The Epic Games Store occasionally offers games at a discount or gives away coupons that can be redeemed before payment. Such promotions usually occur on special occasions. The biggest highlight, however, is the game given away for free each week. It is available to every user and can be played for free indefinitely if added to the private library in time.

The Epic Games Store regularly attracts with discounts

Updates: Games in the library are automatically updated and thus kept up to date.

Unreal Engine: The Unreal Engine is a graphics engine by developers for developers, allowing the creation of lifelike graphics and virtual worlds. Games created with the Unreal Engine include titles like “Borderlands,” “Fortnite,” “Hogwarts Legacy,” and “Valorant.” While it is helpful to have some C++ programming knowledge, it is not necessary to get started. The Unreal Engine is the world’s most advanced real-time 3D creation tool.

Disadvantages of the gaming platform

The aforementioned features are advantages of the Epic Games Store. However, the platform also has disadvantages or limitations.

Library Sharing: There is no “Library Sharing” to share your game library with other players. Steam, on the other hand, offers “Library Sharing,” which is an advantage over the Epic Games Store.

Profile Customization: Users cannot customize their profiles to their liking, which is possible on Steam with banners, colors, custom text, and stickers.

Internet Connection Required: You cannot log into the Epic Games Launcher without an internet connection. There is an offline mode to play games without an internet connection, but you must first log in, which is not possible without an internet connection.

No App: There is no app available. This is unfortunate, as it could be used to simplify the login process. Steam also has an advantage here that the Epic Games Store does not.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.