Epic Games Store is heading into a major overhaul as debate continues over whether it can meaningfully narrow Steam’s entrenched lead in PC game distribution. Emmanuel Rosier, director of market intelligence at Newzoo, told PC Gamer that he did not see an obvious route for Epic’s store to turn the situation around, arguing that Steam has become deeply embedded in PC players’ habits.
Epic is rebuilding its launcher from the ground up. The company said the project is intended to address long-running complaints about responsiveness and startup performance. A June update said the rebuilt launcher could start roughly five times faster on average, while planned storefront changes include personalized game recommendations, quick-access categories and patch notes integrated directly into store pages.
Steam’s advantage goes beyond launcher speed
Steam has accumulated game libraries, friends lists, communities, user reviews, Workshop content, achievements and purchasing habits over many years. For players who already own hundreds of games there, buying through another launcher fragments their library and social activity. Rosier’s argument is that this network effect is difficult to overcome even when a competitor offers free games or more favorable commercial terms to developers.
Epic’s free-game program has been one of its most visible user-acquisition strategies. Rosier said some users may log in mainly to claim free titles rather than becoming regular players or buyers.
Epic is fighting on several fronts
Epic has competed with Steam while also fighting Apple and Google over mobile app-store rules and payment systems, and investing heavily in Fortnite, Unreal Engine and its creator ecosystem. Rosier suggested that trying to win across all of these fronts at the same time may have stretched the company’s attention and resources.
He was more positive about Fortnite, which has expanded beyond battle royale through collaborations, creator-made experiences and licensed characters.
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Epic and Newzoo add important context
PC Gamer updated its report on August 23 after Epic Games Store vice president and GM Martin Keely disputed Rosier’s assessment. Keely said that in 2025 players spent a record 2.78 billion hours playing third-party games on Epic Games Store and player spending on third-party PC games increased 57% to an all-time record of $400 million. He argued that the improved launcher coming in 2026 should accelerate that momentum.
Newzoo also issued a disclaimer, saying the remarks about Epic Games Store were not supported by Newzoo data or analysis and did not take relevant public evidence into account. The company said they should not be treated as a Newzoo market assessment.
The real test is changing purchasing habits
The disagreement highlights two ways of measuring a digital storefront. Epic can point to rising third-party spending, billions of hours of play and continued investment in launcher performance. Critics can point to Steam’s deeply established ecosystem and the difficulty of persuading users to split libraries and social activity across multiple PC platforms.
The forthcoming launcher and storefront changes therefore matter as more than a cosmetic redesign. Faster startup, better recommendations, clearer categories and integrated patch information address practical weaknesses users have criticized for years. The harder challenge is creating enough convenience, discovery value, community utility and purchasing confidence that players choose Epic even when the same game is also available on Steam.
Fortnite may remain central because it gives Epic a massive consumer touchpoint independent of traditional storefront competition. The longer-term question is whether Epic can combine its store, Fortnite, Unreal Engine and creator ecosystem into a durable platform business.
