The Quest for the Snappy Launcher: Why Epic is Still Casting Level 1 Spells in a Level 99 Steam World
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Jeff dives into why the Epic Games Store is still struggling to match Steam's magic, arguing that free games and dev-friendly cuts can't fix a clunky user experience and a lack of community soul.
Right, so I’ve been tinkering with my digital spellbook all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? You open a certain bright-colored launcher because they’re dangling a free copy of some indie darling in front of your nose like a carrot on a very long, very corporate stick. You click 'claim,' you feel that brief hit of dopamine from adding to your digital hoard, and then... you immediately close the app and go back to Steam.
It’s a ritual. A cycle. A bit of a tragedy, really.
According to a rather biting (but fair) perspective from Jacqueline Thomas over at IGN, the Epic Games Store (EGS) is approaching its tenth birthday, and it’s still struggling to find its soul. Launched back in 2017 with the lofty ambition of dethroning the Gabe Newell empire, EGS was supposed to be the Great Disrupter. But as Thomas points out—and I reckon most of us would agree while staring at a loading bar—it’s still exponentially clunkier than the giant it’s trying to slay.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love a bit of healthy competition. It’s the catalyst for innovation, the fire under the cauldron. But if you’re going to challenge the king, you’d better bring more than just a bag of free gold coins and a storefront that moves with the grace of a tectonic plate.
### The 'Free Game' Illusion
There’s a telling quote in the original IGN piece from an Epic employee who chatted with Polygon, admitting that most users "come for the free games, then leave." It’s like opening a pub where the first pint is free, but there are no chairs, the lights flicker, and the barman doesn't know how to talk to the locals. You’ll get a crowd for the freebie, sure, but nobody’s staying for the atmosphere.
Epic’s big play wasn't just freebies, though; it was the 12% revenue split. They offered developers a much bigger slice of the pie compared to Steam’s 24-30% cut. On paper, that’s brilliant. It’s noble. It’s the kind of dev-friendly move that makes you want to cheer. But here’s the cold, hard truth: players don’t buy games because of the developer’s revenue share. We’re selfish creatures, aren't we? We buy games where it’s easiest to play them, where our mates are, and where the UI doesn't make us want to throw our monitors out the window.
### The Speed of... Well, Not Much
Jacqueline Thomas highlights a pain point I feel in my very marrow: the speed. Or lack thereof. We are living in an era of NVMe drives and processors that can simulate entire galaxies, yet the Epic Games Store still takes a bloody age to load a library. I’ve seen glaciers move faster than the EGS scroll bar sometimes.
Steve Allison, VP and GM at Epic, told IGN back in February that they’re investing in making the launcher feel "fast and snappy." They’re aiming for a big June update to fix the slog. I truly hope they pull it off, but I’m wearing my cloak of skepticism here. We’ve been promised roadmaps before—back in 2019, there were visions of a feature-rich paradise that still feels half-baked years later. Where are the user reviews? Where’s the community soul?
### Steam Isn't a Store; It’s a Home
This is the bit that Epic seems to miss. Steam isn’t just a place where I trade currency for files. It’s a community-focused ecosystem. Whether it’s the Steam Deck integration, the granular user reviews that tell me if a port is rubbish, or the (admittedly silly) trading cards and profile badges—it feels lived in.
Valve isn't sitting still, either. While Epic is trying to figure out how to make a library scroll without stuttering, Valve is adding features that tell you exactly how a game will run on your specific rig before you even buy it. It’s that level of 'wizardry'—predicting what a player needs before they ask—that makes Steam feel indispensable.
### The Web3 Lesson (Yes, I’m Going There)
I can't help but draw a parallel here to some of the Web3 gaming projects I’ve been scouting. We see it all the time: platforms offering 'airdrops' or 'play-to-earn' incentives to lure people in. It works for a minute. The charts go up, the 'active users' look great on a spreadsheet. But if the underlying experience is a headache—if the 'launcher' is just a glorified wallet and the 'community' is just people shouting about floor prices—they leave the moment the incentives dry up.
Epic is essentially running the world’s biggest Web2 'airdrop' campaign with these free games. But without the 'snappiness' and the community features that Jackie Thomas rightly identifies as essential, they aren’t building a kingdom; they’re just renting an audience.
### Final Thoughts from the Tower
I want Epic to succeed. Truly. We need someone to keep Valve on their toes so they don’t get complacent and start charging us for the air we breathe while gaming. But competition requires actually *competing* on the user experience. You can’t just be the 'other' store; you have to be the *better* store.
Until Epic can make their launcher feel like a portal to adventure rather than a chore I have to perform to play *Alan Wake 2*, they’re always going to be the second choice. Here’s hoping that June update brings some actual magic to the table.
But what do you lot reckon? Are you an Epic loyalist, or is your library strictly a Valve affair? Do free games make up for a clunky UI, or is life too short for slow launchers?
Stay curious, mates.
*Source: This article was inspired by and references "Opinion: The Epic Games Store Will Never Be as Good as Steam" by Jacqueline Thomas, published by IGN South Africa.*
Tags: Epic Games Store, Steam, PC Gaming, Gaming Industry, User Experience
Original article: IGN South Africa