Epic launched its Epic Games Store in 2018 to bite into Valve's Steam monopoly. Free‑game giveaways drove a quick surge of registrations, but two former staff say the boost evaporated once promotions ended, with many gamers marching back to Steam. Managing multiple storefronts still feels clunky, prompting the platform to rethink retention, especially among hobbyists who juggle launch discounts and seasonal sales.

Steam kept shattering its own milestones, logging a record 42,318,602 concurrent players on March 22 and holding over 37 million active users today. Bloomberg cites the Epic store reaching 78 million monthly active PCs, yet Steam matches that audience in just two to three days. Epic disclosed $400 million spent on third‑party titles, revenue tracking shows Epic still trails Valve in average spend per user.

The disparity means third‑party developers earn noticeably less on Epic than on Steam, a gap that could deter future releases. While free titles attract attention, sustained growth will require better library integration and developer incentives. For now, Steam remains the default hub for PC gamers, and Epic must deliver more than giveaways to shift that loyalty without compromising performance or stability.