The global gaming industry is estimated to be $281.77 billion in 2023 projected to be $665 billion by 2030. The PC gaming alone controls 21 percent of the market share. Some of the popular game distribution services include Seam, Epic, Green Man Gaming, GamersGate, GOD.com, etc. Out of all these game distribution platforms, Steam and Epic Game Store are the most popular services. Both of these platforms have their own unique features and advantages and cater to different preferences. In this article, we will compare Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Game Library
Steam: Steam has been in the market for 20 years, it has a huge library with over 50 thousand games. You can find anything from indie games to AAA blockbusters, and all sorts of genres.
Epic Games Store: Epic is a new kid on the block, it has been in existence since 2018 and offers just about 1800 games. However, Epic is growing rapidly.
Exclusive Titles
Steam: Even though Steam has a bigger library, a lot of games on Steam are also available on other platforms, therefore, Steam offers a limited number of exclusive titles. Steam is mainly focused on providing a game release platform for developers.
Epic Games Store: Despite being a new gaming platform, a lot of games are exclusively available on Epic Game Store, for instance, Fortnite, Control, and The Outer Worlds. Securing an exclusive release has helped Epic grow very popular among gamers.
User Interface and Features
Steam: Users can create personalized libraries and profiles on Steam making the interface highly customizable. Steam features like a workshop for mods, in-game chat, and a friend system.
Epic Games Store: Despite having a clean and user-friendly interface, Epic lacks a lot of features offered by Steam.
Free Games and Discounts
Steam: Steam offers games for discounted prices by frequently running sales. It also has a huge library of free games.
Epic Games Store: Epic runs weekly free game giveaways, and also occasionally offers discounts on games. Epic is very popular among budget-conscious gamers.
Revenue Sharing for Developers
Steam: Steam charges a 30 percent commission for the developers but the commission rate will go down to 20 or even 15 percent for the games with huge sales.
Epic Games Store: The Epic Games Store charges only 12 percent, so it is developing as a developers’ favorite platform.