Challenges Ahead for the Epic Games Store

The Epic Games Store, a once-promising competitor to Steam, faces an uphill battle to regain its footing in the gaming market.

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According to Emmanuel Rosier, director of market intelligence at industry analysts Newzoo, the store’s chances of recovery are slim due to Steam’s dominant market position.

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‘I don’t really see how they can turn that around,’ Rosier says, ‘because Steam has become so inevitable.’

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Rosier attributes the Epic Games Store’s struggles to its failure to focus on a specific area, instead trying to compete with multiple platforms simultaneously.

‘They try to win everywhere in the past few years,’ he explains, ‘They try to win against Steam, they try to win against Apple, against Google Play, and probably they run out of steam on where they cannot fight all these battles at the same time.’

A Different Story for Fortnite

However, Rosier is more optimistic about the future of Epic as a game developer, particularly with regards to Fortnite.

‘They probably need to focus on what really matters,’ he says, ‘which I think is Fortnite. You can see they put a lot of thought in Fortnite right now.’

Rosier notes that Fortnite’s recent shift towards incorporating cosmetics based on other companies’ videogames is a positive trend, suggesting that Epic is no longer afraid to collaborate with other game developers.

‘It’s funny because it’s a gaming platform that’s not even competing any more with other games,’ he says. ‘Because if you are launching a game, it makes sense to do some marketing within Fortnite.’

Rosier also praises recent additions to Fortnite, such as the collectible ‘sprites’ that give players something else to do.

‘It’s not about winning that much; it’s about completing your collection of sprites,’ he explains.

Despite these positive developments, Rosier remains less optimistic about the Epic Games Store’s chances of recovery.

‘If you look at the Epic Games Store, I don’t see how they can recover at this point.’

A Changing Gaming Landscape

The gaming market is constantly evolving, with new platforms and trends emerging all the time.

As the Epic Games Store struggles to find its place, other platforms like Steam continue to dominate the market.

It remains to be seen whether the Epic Games Store can turn things around, but for now, it seems that Steam is here to stay.