[PCWorld] A year in, the Epic Games Store's fight against Steam has made PC gaming better for everyone.

[JLP101]

[PCWorld] A year in, the Epic Games Store's fight against Steam has made PC gaming better for everyone.

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I highly doubt that but I will give you the benefit of the doubt

Did it work? Probably. It's hard to know without concrete sales figures

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If by your own admission without concrete sales figures how could it benefit everyone?

They just want to play the games wherever they end up. Epic? Steam? They're probably two sides of the same coin to a large portion of the audience.

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Sad but true.

Microsoft and Valve, for one. Microsoft, the company that so enraged Gabe Newell, Valve built its own Linux-based operating system to try and escape. Microsoft, which locked its first-party releases to the Windows 10 Store for almost the entire Xbox One console generation even after warming to the PC.

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Epic had absolutely nothing to do with this.

Would the wall have come down without Epic's entry into the fray? Maybe, but it still seems like the launch of the Epic Games Store helped hurry things along. In 2019, Valve finally needed EA as much as EA needed Valve—and Epic's improved revenue split gave EA some leverage.

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Again, Epic had nothing to do with this.

Steam's improved in more fundamental ways as well. The oft-rumored Library refresh finally came to fruition in September, the first major update to that interface in...like, fifteen years. And it's a huge improvement, surfacing important updates and making it infinitely easier to sort large collections.

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All of this was done years in advance.

Not that Epic has faltered. Quite the contrary. Given how resistant people are to change, how much of a head start Valve had, the Epic Games Store has had a remarkable first year.

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Based on what? Zero sales evidence, lack of features, forcing gamers to use your store?

 

[Htown]

The level of updates on Steam this year have been on par with last years. Most of them were also linear upgrades from things introduced last year!
MS coming back and trying to win back some PC-rep by coming to Steam has nothing to do with EGS.
EA coming back because they want to have EA Access everywhere possible has nothing to do with EGS.

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it's water_wendi, you're not going to get anything but a "Valve sucks" take from their posts

 

[Surface of Me]

What the hell does MS releasing games on Steam have to do with EGS?

 

[eonden]

What the hell does MS releasing games on Steam have to do with EGS?

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It happened the year after EGS was announced. Everything good that happened to Steam / Valve was because of Epic. Everything bad that happend to Steam / Valve is because they are lazy and need more competition.

 

[Skunk]

LMFAO. WHAT benefits? My god. Delusional writers. When you.consider stealing exclusivity so so the game doesnt appear on steam (but it does o other launchers) competition, then you should not be a journalist.

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Pretty much agreed. This author wrote an editorial that started with a (stupid, Epic fanwank) premise and wrote backwards from that a bunch of speculation to weakly try to justify it. But it's complete fucking nonsense. Any PC storefront moneyhatting exclusives is a detriment to the PC gaming community as a whole; the fact they are spending tons of money on that rather than actually improving their service after all this time just compounds the problem. This dude absolutely shouldn't be a journalist if that's how he's gonna write.

 

[cowbanana]

Epic has been like a filter for disappointing games, for me, when I look back at the past year. Almost every game on the list of EGS exclusives - a disappointment avoided (Except Control which I borrowed for my PS4 and found disappointing - I would probably have wasted my money if it had released on Steam). Seriously, I understand why these devs took the EGS money hat for some safe income. Most of the EGS exclusives look like games that would otherwise have bombed for the devs, without that sweet Epic cash. The latest of the batch, Phoenix Point, looks fairly half-baked as well. Haven't felt like I missed anything yet. I honestly don't see what they've brought to the table that could remotely interest or benefit me (beyond being a filter, which I don't think was the intent). Tim's disingenuous and laughable tweets just cement my decision to avoid the EGS shit show.

Microsoft has added much more value in the form of game pass for PC. They have bought a real change to the PC game.

Articles like the one linked really annoy me. Such bullshit nonsense, sounds like an ad for Epic :(

 

[Richietto]

Lmao what a dumb fucking article. A bunch of "maybe" and "I think". Nothing Epic has done has changed anything besides buying up exclusives for their storefront and thus giving us less options. Everything else has been par the course for YEARS.

PC is better this year I would argue, because of Microsoft. Their new commitment to PC gaming has been sorely missed and not only are they releasing their titles on PC, they are releasing them on Steam. Epic's done shit.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Hahahaha fucking really??? XD

 

[EloKa]

EGS has so many fans, their Shenmue release trailer can reach 12 million totally normal and real views while having only 1157 dislikes. Thats less than 0,01% of people that dislike the Shenmue exclusivity (it also only has 226 likes but let's leave out that detail because that woud lead to strange questions).

 

[MegaXZero]

EGS has so many fans, their Shenmue release trailer can reach 12 million totally normal and real views while having only 1157 dislikes. Thats less than 0,01% of people who dislike the Shenmue exclusivity (it also only has 226 likes but let's leave out that detail because that woud lead to strange questions).

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That is funky stuff.

 

[BasilZero]

Thanks Epic for bringing good sales, new UI, EA, Destiny 2, Halo, and Half Life: Alyx to Steam!
I won't forgive Tim Sweeney for personally killing In The Valley of Gods though. So I guess it evens out.

For real, I do hope Epic steps up its game in 2020 a bit. Bring some features to their launcher. Would be nice. You know, competing for a change.

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Have EGS added a shopping cart yet?

Haven't really checked since the summer lol

Been getting their free games most of which I will probably not play anytime soon since majority of the titles given free are low priority games for me

 

[texhnolyze]

I saw this kind of article from a mile away, since it's EGS' birthday.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

EGS has so many fans, their Shenmue release trailer can reach 12 million totally normal and real views while having only 1157 dislikes. Thats less than 0,01% of people that dislike the Shenmue exclusivity (it also only has 226 likes but let's leave out that detail because that woud lead to strange questions).

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Yeah, what the fuck is going on with these numbers?

 

[Kazer]

Joke of an article lol.

 

[Deleted member 11626]

Nobody should honestly believe that any of the past year's developments by Steam occurred as a result of Epic. Especially stuff like Half Life, which takes longer than a year and a half.

Meanwhile EGS is still the same shit storefront that offers nothing of value and still missing basic features. So how did Epic make anything better?

 

[Adulfzen]

I'm happy about the free games but that's about it really, wish Epic used their money to bring Kingdom Hearts 3 on PC or something..

 

[TioChuck]

Yeah, what the fuck is going on with these numbers?

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What I been told is that Epic paid to the video to been show as an ad on Youtube, so the video was playing before other videos, and even if you skip its counted as a view.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

What I been told is that Epic paid to the video to been show as an ad on Youtube, so the video was playing before other videos, and even if you skip its counted as a view.

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Oh okay, yeah sure. That is something I forget to considered when trailer vids get tons of views. Them being inserted as ads.

 

[Detail]

So Red Dead Redemption 2 sold well on Rockstars own launcher because of Epic and the only reason Steam has made improvements is also, because of Epic?

 

[JahIthBer]

Nah, it's still made it worse, Epic hasn't brought any exclusives to PC, just gatekeeped multiplats.

 

[deadman322]

Nah, it's still made it worse, Epic hasn't brought any exclusives to PC, just gatekeeped multiplats.

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it makes me sick that tim hasn't freed indie devs from the shackles of console licensing fees and 30% cut.

 

[Wajna]

Well thanks for letting me Steam remote play with friends who doesnt need to own the game if I invite then to play with me. Oh and I can play my Steam games on my iPad, even when Im not home.

 

[Alexandros]

The article reads like EGS' obituary.

 

[hersheyfan]

[sees a post about another article about EGS, openly trolling for clicks from the headline on down]

[checks the view and reply counts to the thread]

Damn, EGS just don't bring in the rubes like it used to. Tsk tsk.

[goes back to playing Halo: Reach]

 

[MrCibb]

Eh, stopped reading halfway. Unless the second half of the article improves I'm not seeing any new facts or information in there, just a whole lot of "maybe" based on recent things and the writer trying very very hard to justify things he said a while ago as correct. Not a very good article.

 

[VN1X]

Still not installed the epic store on my PC, it hasn't changed a single thing how I game on PC.

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Same.

 

[AfropunkNyc]

Damn, i forgot Epic has a store. Thanks for the reminder. I put to much time into Steam to not be a loyal customer.

 

[Reinhard]

Still waiting for a single benefit that the EGS provided, the article wasn't convincing at all. All the Steam development was happening anyway, it wasn't because Epic used Fortnite money to buy up exclusives.

 

[Asbsand]

In what way was Valve "forced" to reveal HL Alyx?

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To assert dominance with Steam in case people were starting to think EGS was the better main store to use... Not that HL:A is a good business proposition for a lot of consumer lmfao. It's 800 dollars for the index.

 

[Mechaplum]

Still waiting for a single benefit that the EGS provided, the article wasn't convincing at all. All the Steam development was happening anyway, it wasn't because Epic used Fortnite money to buy up exclusives.

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Yeah absolutely zero impact to my gaming experience. Game pass has been way more influential.

 

[TrashFuego]

To assert dominance with Steam in case people were starting to think EGS was the better main store to use... Not that HL:A is a good business proposition for a lot of consumer lmfao. It's 800 dollars for the index.

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Totally a response to epic. It has nothing to do with the fact that they partnered with htc over 3 years ago to enter the vr space. Certainly nothing to do with the fact that they made their new headset completely in house and needed a flagship VR title to show it off. Not to mention this vr title has been in development for 4 years. Yup this all cause of epic. No doubt. Alyx would not exist without epic lol

 

[mugwhump]

I'm still glad EGS exists.

 

[water_wendi]

The level of updates on Steam this year have been on par with last years. Most of them were also linear upgrades from things introduced last year!

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People have been clamoring for an overhaul of the Steam client/library for how many years? 5? 10?

MS coming back and trying to win back some PC-rep by coming to Steam has nothing to do with EGS.
EA coming back because they want to have EA Access everywhere possible has nothing to do with EGS.

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Were they coming back before or after the reduction in Valves cut that coincided with the release of EGS?

All those writers that left Valve in 2017 only to return a year or so later

Maybe its all just coincidence but im skeptical.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

I noticed as well, that for every game Epic paid to take away - another took its place on Steam. So Epic's been blowing all of this money for nothing.

I've gone from being annoyed with Epic, to indifference. Keep the freebies coming Timmy and step it up a bit. I want two free games per week. In the meantime the games I want to buy are still on Steam lol.

 

[Lashley]

 

[DSP]

I am hoping they renew the weekly free games for another year. I fully expect them to announce that at VGA.

 

[Zips]

I have a feeling that just about everything Valve did in the last year+ was already in development before Epic Store was a thing and Valve didn't and still doesn't give a shit.

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This was exactly what I was going to say when looking at this.

Valve has simply continued to do what they've always done for literally years before EGS came along and royally fucked things up for consumers.

Epic: "I feel bad for you."
Valve: "I don't think about you at all."

 

[Trickster]

No it hasn't. All its done for me is make me not play certain games

 

[EllipsisBreak]

People have been clamoring for an overhaul of the Steam client/library for how many years? 5? 10?


Were they coming back before or after the reduction in Valves cut that coincided with the release of EGS?

All those writers that left Valve in 2017 only to return a year or so later

Maybe its all just coincidence but im skeptical.

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Why are you talking about the library update? We've known for years that it would happen in 2019. Valve was waiting for their Windows XP deprecation date to pass. The fact that Epic started being so aggressive in that same year cannot be anything other than a coincidence.

Microsoft and EA are returning because of their current strategy of pushing subscription services instead of storefronts. They no longer care so much about having their own store. EA wants the highest possible number of customers (most of whom are on Steam) to see EA Access, and Microsoft wants to use Steam's popularity to boost its own image while also offering the same games in Game Pass for cheap to get us to actually pay attention to that. The store cut is a red herring. This is about subscriptions.

Writers such as Laidlaw are working (or at least consulting?) on Half Life Alyx, correct? It stands to reason that we would only find out about people like that after the game got announced. As that game has been in development for years and is now nearing completion, it clearly has nothing to do with Epic's recent activity.

What's your argument, anyway? Do you think Valve went out and hired a bunch of writers because Epic paid some games to not release on Steam? That doesn't make sense.

 

[Cipherr]

Are these advances something spurred by the EGS or just the natural evolution of Steam?

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It (Being the EGS as a whole) failed to have any real large noticeable momentum or effect, So now every improvement, every forward movement of Steam is now attributed to EGS somehow.... As if there were never changes and improvements beforehand.

In fact, Im sure the Alyx Half Life game wasnt in development for years prior to its reveal either! All reactionary!


/yawn. I guess this is one way to keep this in the news now that the effect is waning and people aren't caring anymore.

Haters gonna hate that i enjoyed my free games on Epic

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No one is "hating" on you playing your free games. No one was even talking about it anymore at all. Thats why this article is trying to phoenix down the discussion.

 

[SecretEnding]

IMO the autumn sale was almost a return to form for steam and that can be attributed to them no longer taking their customers for granted. EGS isnt going anywhere.

 

[Nabs]

This article is filled with a bunch of ducktales.

IMO the autumn sale was almost a return to form for steam and that can be attributed to them no longer taking their customers for granted. EGS isnt going anywhere.

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Valve doesn't determine sale prices. What was the return to form exactly?

 

[EllipsisBreak]

IMO the autumn sale was almost a return to form for steam and that can be attributed to them no longer taking their customers for granted. EGS isnt going anywhere.

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Valve doesn't set the prices, except for their own games. If the deals were better than usual this year, you should be thanking the individual publishers and/or developers responsible.

 

[The Spoony Hou]

Man, moneyhats sure are a revolution.

 

[spam musubi]

It's kind of astonishing how people are coming in with gotchas and they're all wrong.

 

[Yarbskoo]

This is Valve were talking about. Valve. They didnt develop a bunch of features in a year.

 

[HK-47]

Lol fight against the tyranny of steam. What a joke.

 

[Sidebuster]

This is Valve were talking about. Valve. They didnt develop a bunch of features in a year.

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Yup, if Valve is known for anything. It's taking their sweet ass time.

 

[TAJ]

Haters gonna hate that i enjoyed my free games on Epic

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Nothing is free.

 

[Herne]

Still not touching EGS. I'm not going to be forced into using their store to get access to content they've excluded everyone else from getting for a year. My dream game could come out tomorrow for free on EGS and I still would wait for the Steam release... or not get it at all.

Of course I have been quite lucky in that EGS has been locking games to their store that I have no interest in, but still.