Steam vs epic games store

Which Video Game Storefront Should I Use?

The answer is rather simple: all three. There’s really no reason why you should favor one over the other when they all have their own unique benefits and virtues. If you’re into Blizzard titles, you’ll have to use Battle.net. That much is a fact.

The Epic Games Store is the least responsive and, frankly, the most austere. Still, the company behind it has the tendency to shower its users with free games every few weeks or months, and that includes both indies and AAA titles. They’re not doing that out of any benevolent urge, though, as it’s a fairly ingenious attempt at luring people in and increasing their playerbase. And, well, it works about as well as you’d expect.

It is by no means the most popular storefront out there but once you’ve accrued a respectable library, it’s hard not to use it from time to time, despite its many flaws and deficiencies. Moreover, Epic’s quarterly sales are absolutely spectacular.

It’s a win-win, really: we get the games we love at insane discounts, and Epic gets more users, so it’s really hard to complain.

Steam vs Epic Games | Valve’s Storefront Has No Equal

Steam is undeniably the most well-rounded and feature-rich. It’s the one basically everyone uses and it’s also the most versatile. Steam Sales aren’t always all that tremendous, but the software itself works as intended (for the most part).

It’s also a much better storefront/launcher as it’s easier to navigate. It has around 50,000 titles which dwarfs the ~2,000 from Epic Games. So from a quantity perspective, it’s way ahead.

Still, for the uninitiated, Steam might seem a bit too overwhelming. It has too many features and options, too many menus and things to click on. Be that as it may, once you submerge yourself in all it has to offer, things start making a lot more sense — it all becomes “second-nature.”

Steam also has a much larger community and it offers a myriad of different ways to connect, communicate, and queue up.

It’s the number one option for a very good reason and, frankly, that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Epic Games Store vs Steam: game management

The new, improved Steam beta library (Image credit: Valve)

Steam is built for a lot of games, and its no-nonsense default library view reflects that, showing a long list of your games in a pane. 

Select a given game, and you see news about it, some highlighted mods from the Steam Workshop, screenshots you’ve taken and so on. It’s practical, and distinctly ‘PC’ in its no-nonsense presentation — but some might see it as a little bit dated.

Clicking the ‘List View’ in your library shows whether your saved game data is synced to the cloud, as well as the game’s Metascore (handy if you have more games than you know what to do with, and want to quickly find something new in your library to play). Custom categories let you organize games into as many different lists as you want.

In Steam’s settings, you can set multiple default install directories, so when the time comes to install you can quickly pick one from a dropdown menu.

And, if you want a more modern library on Steam, and you’re not afraid of downloading a beta version, you’re in luck. Right now, you can go to the top left corner of the steam desktop client, click «Steam» then «Settings», and where it says «Beta participation», click «Change», then «Steam Beta Update». You’ll be prompted to restart Steam, and it will download an update. When that’s done, you’ll get an all-new, less ancient-looking Steam library.

The Epic Games Store library

But what about the Epic Games Store? For a storefront hoping to be ‘The Future,’ game management here feels a little old-hat. There’s no way to change the default install directory through the Store’s settings. You can only change the install path on a per-game basis, which takes you to the Windows or Mac file explorer and lets you manually choose a directory.

Installed games don’t appear in the Apps & Features list in Windows 10, so the only way to uninstall them is through the Epic Store. And, if you uninstall Epic Store before uninstalling any of the games you have on it? Well, you’ll need to go and manually delete the game folders in your OS like it’s 1995 again. Not great…

At this point, the games you own are simply displayed as tiles with no organizational options. That’s fine for now, but will need to change as Epic’s store takes on more games and your library fills up.

Steam vs Epic Games Store: Revenue Split and Game Prices

It’s time to talk about the prices. Both platforms work with limited period offers and game sales. This way, gamers can find a better deal when they are going to purchase their chosen PC game.

The platforms are not trying to undercut themselves but the title may have different prices at the same time. It happens because there are regional price differences and specific regions have different regional pricing regulations as well. They also have different local currencies and local market differences that impact some big titles.

Since Steam is available in more local currencies, it passes through a bit more perceptible fluctuation. This makes users from certain regions pay a bigger price than they would in other places for most games. 

On the other hand, Epic Games Store offers a raw conversion rate. This option ends making many games cheaper than on other platforms such as Steam. That is certainly an advantage that can compensate for the extra features the other platform has in comparison to Epic.

Revenue Split

The revenue split between the developer and the distributor is the biggest reason why Epic Games Store gets the upper hand on our fourth round, having far better numbers than Steam. 

For Epic’s launcher, the revenue splits are 88 – 12 in favor of those who work in the game development. For Valve’s platform, it varies from 30 – 70 to 20 -80, depending on how much money a game makes. 

Point for Epic as it is a great way of supporting developers without changing the price of any game, allowing them to make more money. This revenue split alongside good exclusivity deals can help developers to profit a great amount, as they get more with Epic. These deals would also make players go only for EGS to get the new title they want to play. Since they have fewer titles in the catalog, announcing with Epic could be great to gain exposure for developers and game publishers. 

If developers decide to use the unreal engine to create a game, they must pay a 5% fee that Epic charges. But, if they put the game in Epic Games Store they are free from it, which makes the revenue split even better for the developer’s business.

Alternative PC Gaming Clients

Of course, Steam and Epic Games Store aren’t the only ones serving the PC gaming community. Here’s a list of other PC gaming clients you should check out:

1. GOG.com

GOG.com is CD Projekt’s subsidiary that’s a perfect place for PC gamers who love classic titles. It offers remastered versions of old titles that don’t require other software or hardware to run on today’s gaming PCs.

2. itch.io

itch.io is a haven for both developers and gamers. It’s where developers can create games based on their preferences, without oversight from developing companies. In short, itch.io provides a platform for small and independent game developers and a place for gamers who like non-mainstream titles.

3. Microsoft Store

As a built-in Windows app, it’s surprising how most gamers don’t think of the Microsoft Store as a source for their PC games. It has cross-platform Xbox titles you can enjoy without owning the console, which is a really good feature for all-around gamers who enjoy all gaming platforms.

Also read: How to Share Steam Games with Family

Game Availability

Origin mainly focuses on games developed by EA Games. Most of the AAA titled EA games are Origin exclusive. The main titles include FIFA, NFS Series, Battlefield, etc.. Origin also offers a decent set of games from other developers.

Steam contains the biggest game library with all kinds of games in all genres. It holds more than 30000 game titles. The game variety ranges from the latest titles to games produced by small scale developers, including the Red Dead Redemption 2.

Epic is expanding their collection daily by adding new games each day. It holds titles like Metro Exodus as exclusives. Even though Epic does not possess as many titles as Steam, you get certain exclusive games. Epic offers easy publishing of games by developers and only acquires 12% of the profit share, whereas steam goes for a profit share of 30%.

Steam Vs Epic Games Store: Social Features

Once again, being in the market for almost 20 years helped Steam to improve its social features. On Steam, users have their profile tab. There, they can do many things such as share media, get a recommendation based on their friends’ list, level up, write posts and share related topics.

Source: Valve

Game developers that want to implement social aspects to their games must take a good look at Steam as its social features are great. Besides that, Steam supports game invites, message boards, chat functionality through voice and writing, and community discussions. 

The platform also features game streaming software for media sharing and gives you the option of connecting console profiles to communicate through multiple platforms, offering cross-platform support, and creating a communication network.

In these features, Epic Games Store is not a competition for Steam. In their social gaming hub, users can only add friends to their friends’ list and use chats as there are no more features. Therefore, in this third Steam vs Epic Games Store round, Steam wins again.

Which Storefront Has the Most Free Games? | Steam vs Epic Games

That depends on what you deem as free. If you’re talking about free-to-play games, then that’s Steam — it has the largest library by far. As for freebies and giveaways, that’s the one area where Epic Games stands out.

If you logged in and clicked what needed clicking, you could’ve claimed Dishonored, Mortal Shell, Death Stranding, Metro: Last Light, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Borderlands 3, Bioshock: The Collection, Tomb Raider Trilogy, Control, Among Us, Civilization 6, Grand Theft Auto 5, The Stanley Parable, Watch Dogs 2, Alan Wake, Batman: Arkham Collection, and hundreds of others, both indies and AAA titles alike.

We’re talking about some of the best and most popular games out there, all of which, at some point, were available for free.

Why would Epic give away so many amazing games? The answer is rather simple: to stand a better chance at competing with Steam and, in doing so, increasing its user base.

User Interface

Steam possesses the most feature-rich UI for a launcher. Steam provides a lot of options, which makes it social media among gamers. The game launcher provides features like cloud save, friend list chats, broadcasts, mods support, Linux support, forms,etc..

Steam has a big community market in which you can buy and sell in-game items. Steam has a section to showcase in-game achievements. It has the option to gift games. Users can review the game in this section, and reviews can be categorized into various sections.

Origin has the fastest and highly optimized user interface of all three. The platform has better optimization so that it offers the fastest background download speed. Origin offers the feature of playing games while downloading. Origin also has cloud-save, achievements, and friendslist option. You can also add non-Origin games to the Origin game library.

The Epic comes with a minimal interface and has only very few features. The game launcher offers cloud save only for a few games. Epic does not have an effective review system. The friend list and achievements provided by Epic is not so good as the others. Anyways, the game suggestion system is better in Epic compared to others both.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which PC gaming client sells titles cheaper?

If you check both Steam and Epic Games Store, you’ll see that the original prices for titles are the same. However, the difference is in the discounts. Sometimes, one client sells a specific title for a lower price. But without discounts, both stores sell games at the same prices. If you count Epic Games Store making paid games free for a week, then you can say they sell titles cheaper (for free).

2. Can I play a Steam game with a friend who downloaded their own copy from the Epic Games Store?

Yes. All games available on both clients can be played even if the players bought their copies from either Steam or Epic Games Store. Truthfully, the device you’re playing on is a bigger concern. Not all games support cross-platform gameplay where you can play with a friend using a PlayStation while you’re playing on your PC.

3. Do Steam and Epic Games Store versions of games have different features?

No. The only difference is which client you downloaded your game from and that shouldn’t change anything unless your game’s developer releases a Steam or Epic Games Store exclusive. That means the version from that store has unique features you won’t find if you bought your game from another PC gaming client.

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Natalie dela Vega

Natalie is a writer specializing in tech how-tos and gaming. When she’s not writing, she plays PC games and travels. Here at MakeTechEasier, you will see her write about guides, tips, and solutions for Windows and iOS.

Преимущества платформы Epic Games Store

1. Бесплатные игры: Epic Games Store регулярно предлагает пользователям бесплатные игры, что позволяет сэкономить значительную сумму денег.

2. Эксклюзивные игры: Epic Games Store имеет множество эксклюзивных игр, которые недоступны на других платформах, включая Steam. Это является значительным преимуществом для фанатов определенных игровых франшиз.

3. Большие скидки: Epic Games Store предлагает регулярные скидки на свои игры, и эти скидки могут быть намного выгоднее, чем на Steam. Это позволяет игрокам сэкономить деньги при покупке популярных игр.

4. Поддержка инди-разработчиков: Epic Games Store активно поддерживает инди-разработчиков, предоставляя им более выгодные условия для продажи своих игр. Это помогает небольшим студиям получить больше прибыли и сделать свои игры более доступными для игроков.

5. Удобство использования: Epic Games Store имеет простой и интуитивно понятный интерфейс, который удобен в использовании. На платформе легко найти нужные игры, управлять своей библиотекой и обмениваться информацией с друзьями.

6. Разнообразие контента: Epic Games Store предлагает не только игры, но и другой контент, такой как фильмы, музыка и издания сторонних издательств. Это добавляет разнообразие в ассортименте и делает платформу более интересной для пользователей.

7. Лучший процент от продаж: Epic Games Store предлагает разработчикам более выгодные условия, чем Steam, с более высоким процентом от продаж. Это позволяет разработчикам получить больше прибыли за свои игры.

8. Более щедрые условия для отложенных платежей: Epic Games Store предоставляет разработчикам более щедрые условия для отложенных платежей, что может быть особенно полезно для небольших студий, давая им больше гибкости в финансовом планировании.

9. Кросс-платформенная поддержка: Epic Games Store поддерживает кросс-платформенную игру, что означает, что игроки могут играть в игры из Epic Games Store на разных платформах, включая ПК, консоли и мобильные устройства.

10. Различные виды защиты: Epic Games Store активно работает над обеспечением безопасности своей платформы и устанавливает различные виды защиты, чтобы защитить пользователей и предотвратить пиратство.

В целом, Epic Games Store предлагает ряд преимуществ, таких как бесплатные игры, эксклюзивы, выгодные скидки, поддержка разработчиков и удобство использования, что делает его привлекательным выбором для игроков.

Unreal Engine on Epic Games Store

Aside from giving away games, Epic’s launcher also offers a tool that will transform consumers into creators — Unreal Engine. You can download its latest version for free in the Epic Games Store.

If you want to start your game, app, or software development career, you can do so with Unreal Engine’s starter developer tools. Additionally, you can take advantage of tutorials and assets to improve your Unreal Engine projects in its Marketplace.

There may not be a big library of games from known publishers, but Epic gives you a chance to become one of their publishers with its developer-friendly tools.

Furthermore, Epic takes a smaller 12% cut from published projects compared to Steam’s 30%

Also read: 7 of the Best Game Engines for New Game Developers

Developer Portal

After publishing your project, you can manage it through Epic’s Developer Portal. Here, you can update your product information, offer support to your patrons, manage finances and provide usage reports and other statistical data.

With the Developer Portal, you can keep your players in the loop for developments in your project. You can also connect and build relationships with your players and get support as a creator.

FAQs

Which has more users Steam or Epic Games?

31.3 million people play the game every day, which is a 192% increase. In 2020, there will be a peak of 13 million players at the same time (up from seven million in 2019). The infographic for Epic. On the other hand, Steam had 62.6 million daily active users and a peak of 24.8 million users at the same time last year.

Why gamers use Steam?

Steam has many features, such as digital rights management (DRM), game server matchmaking, anti-cheating measures, social networking, and game streaming. Users get automatic game updates, cloud storage for their game progress, and community features like direct messaging, in-game chats, and a community market.

Diagnosis

Несмотря на проблемы, кажущиеся неразрешимими, ситуация не катастрофична. Наименее пострадавшими в этой ситуации оказались владельцы Sony PlayStation, благодаря тому, что российское представительство отреагировало оперативно.

Чуть меньше пострадали игроки на ПК. Варианты приобрести игры у них есть. Дальнейшее закручивание гаек со стороны продавцов лишь приведет к ситуации 90-х годов. Если раньше игроки выбирали между удобством и деньгами, то теперь их ставят в ситуацию выбора между дискомфортом за деньги и дискомфортом бесплатным. Выбор, кажется, очевидным.

Побочным эффектом от введенных санкций будет являтся то, что российские игроки будут меньше тратить денег на микротранзакции и лутбоксы у условно-бесплатных играх. Учитывая то, что такие методы монетизации манипулятивные, это, пожалуй, даже в плюс.

Наиболее пострадавшими оказались владельцы Xbox и смартфонов. Если для первых варианты покупки игр еще какие-то остались, то для вторых, особенно с iPhone, вариантов практически нет. Как после этого компании Microsoft, Google и Apple собираются работать в России дальше, не ясно.

Origin vs. Steam vs. Epic

Origin, Steam, and Epic are game launchers that stand as a platform for game developers to sell their games and gamers to buy them. Steam was the big dog in the house for so long. But, with their newer strategies, both Origin and Epic have managed to become competitors for Steam.

Origin was developed by EA Games to sell their games as exclusives. Origin holds most of the AAA titled EA games, which makes it unavoidable for a gamer.

Steam first came out in 2004, which was developed by Valve software. It has one of the best game launchers out there. Steam provides a platform for gamers to express their views of a game, create new friends, share their achievements, and many cool features.

The Epic launcher was initially designed for Fortnite, but they now hold most of the newly released games. Epic conducts weekly giveaways of games, which makes them customer favorites.

Steam и Epic Games: что это и как они работают

Steam

Steam – это цифровой магазин компьютерных игр и программного обеспечения, разработанный и поддерживаемый компанией Valve. Он был запущен в 2003 году и стал одной из самых популярных компьютерных платформ для покупки и загрузки игр. Steam также предлагает пользователям социальные функции, такие как обмен сообщениями, общение в группах и возможность создания профилей.

Steam позволяет пользователям приобретать и загружать игры, а также сохранять их на собственных аккаунтах. В Steam также доступен широкий выбор дополнительного контента, такого как дополнительные уровни, персонажи и инструменты моддинга. С помощью Steam пользователи могут играть в многопользовательские игры и участвовать в соревнованиях с другими игроками в режиме онлайн.

Epic Games

Epic Games – это компания-разработчик видеоигр и программного обеспечения. Компания была основана в 1991 году, и с тех пор она выпустила несколько популярных игр, таких как Fortnite, Gears of War и Unreal Tournament. В 2019 году Epic Games запустила свой магазин электронных игр – Epic Games Store.

Epic Games Store является конкурентом Steam и предлагает пользователям широкий выбор компьютерных игр и программного обеспечения. Epic Games Store также предлагает различные программы лояльности, скидки и бесплатные игры для своих пользователей.

В отличие от Steam, Epic Games Store имеет эксклюзивные права на некоторые игры, что означает, что эти игры могут быть доступны только через Epic Games Store и не могут быть приобретены на других сервисах.

Where Should I Buy My Games? | Steam vs Epic Games

That depends on what you’re after. Want the largest selection of titles imaginable? You’d have to go with Steam. Want incredible deals and freebies? Epic Games is the way to go. Battle.net is basically just reserved for Activision Blizzard titles, although some of them can also be bought on Steam.

Let’s say you want to buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game that is available both on Battle.net and Steam. Which storefront/launcher should you go with? The latter would be more a bit convenient and, seeing how both versions utilize the same servers, you wouldn’t be losing out on much (if anything) by going with Valve’s stupendously popular launcher.

If you already have a sizable Steam library, then buying the game on Battle.net wouldn’t make much sense. Still, it all boils down to personal preference and where the vast majority of your games happen to be located.

Какие преимущества может предложить Discord?

1. Голосовое и текстовое общение
Discord позволяет игрокам общаться друг с другом в режиме реального времени. Вы можете создавать голосовые каналы для своих друзей или присоединиться к существующим серверам, чтобы общаться с другими игроками. Также платформа предоставляет возможность отправлять текстовые сообщения, что удобно для обмена информацией и организации игровых событий.

2. Высокое качество голосовой связи
Discord использует технологию оптимизации голосового сигнала, что позволяет достичь высокого качества голосовой связи и минимизировать задержку

Это особенно важно для командной игры, где точная и своевременная коммуникация игроков является ключевым фактором успеха.

3. Удобство организации серверов и каналов
Discord предлагает возможность создавать собственные серверы и настраивать их по своему усмотрению

Вы можете создавать различные каналы для разных целей – для разных игр, разговоров по интересам или организации турниров. Это помогает организовать ваши игровые сообщества и легко находить нужную информацию.

4. Интеграция с другими сервисами
Discord интегрирован с другими популярными сервисами, такими как Twitch и YouTube, что позволяет получать уведомления о стримах и видео контенте. Также вы можете добавить ботов на серверы Discord, чтобы автоматизировать определенные задачи или получить дополнительные функции, например, музыкальный бот.

5. Кросс-платформенность
Discord доступен на разных платформах, включая Windows, Mac, Linux, Android и iOS. Это означает, что вы можете использовать Discord на любом устройстве, которое вам удобно, и оставаться на связи со своими друзьями и сообществом вне зависимости от того, какую платформу они используют.

6. Безопасность и конфиденциальность
Discord предоставляет ряд функций для обеспечения безопасности и конфиденциальности пользователей. Вы можете настраивать приватность своего сервера и устанавливать различные роли и разрешения для участников. Discord также предоставляет возможность включить двухфакторную аутентификацию для дополнительной защиты вашего аккаунта.

В целом, Discord предлагает персонализированный и удобный опыт общения и координации для игроков. Эти преимущества делают его привлекательным выбором для тех, кто ищет эффективные и удобные инструменты для игрового сотрудничества и общения.