Overview
- Emmanuel Rosier told interviews published Sunday that he does not see how the Epic Games Store can mount a serious challenge to Steam because players often claim free games without playing them.
- Epic pushed back with its own numbers, saying that in 2025 players logged 2.78 billion hours on third-party games and that third-party PC game spending rose to a record $400 million.
- Epic has promised a launcher and storefront overhaul this year with a roughly five-times faster startup plus personalized recommendations, quicker browsing categories, and built-in patch notes.
- Multiple outlets collected user anecdotes showing people claim Epic’s free titles through the web without installing the launcher and sometimes later buy the same games on Steam, which raises questions about how well Epic’s metrics map to actual play.
- Analysts say Epic’s clearest strength remains its developer and platform work with Fortnite, and the key test next is whether the launcher redesign meaningfully lifts retention and spending rather than only increasing library size.