It’s been some time since Epic Games released its own games launcher and digital storefront to compete with Steam. Its release was met with a ton of controversy on both sides and still sees arguments to this day.
Perhaps the most hotly debated topic revolves around which launcher is better? Ultimately a gamer can have access and receive the benefits of both, but which is the best? Here are some examples in favor of each to help determine whether the long-standing Steam or the newcomer Epic Games is the best.
10 Epic Games: Simpler
While initially criticized for being too basic and simplistic, some fans have come around to the simpler interface that Epic Games offers. This means fewer features, but it also means not being bogged down by features the average gamer is likely to never utilize.
At the end of the day, all you need is a means to buy a game, launch it, and interact with others. Honestly, a simple storefront and game launcher has its positives, instead of the pseudo-social media platform Steam is trying to be.
9 Steam: Helps Gamers Make Money
Having said that, some of those features are useful and can be very beneficial, with an example of one of the more underutilized Steam features being its trading card system. Playing certain games rewards the player with virtual cards that can be collected or traded for cash with other players.
Those who aren’t interesting in collecting the cards can use them to gather a bit of cash for the purchase of their next game. Being able to play your favorite games and then sell the rewards to purchase more games is a nice perk that Steam has.
8 Epic Games: Better Quality Games
While their inventory is still rather small when compared to Steam, the Epic Games Store is not bloated with broken and half-made games. Most of the titles available are completed products that are playable and offer something of value.
That’s not to say all of their games are good and that this won't change as the site gets bigger, but there aren’t nearly as many perma-Early Access games or shoddy cash grabs as you’d find on Steam. Epic Games may be short on quantity but it definitely has quality.
7 Steam: Large Offering Of Games
The other side of that coin is that Steam has more options, which means more games you’ll ultimately enjoy. After being in business since 2003, Steam has amassed quite the collection, so customers are guaranteed to find something that sparks their interest and will work on whatever computer they have.
Sure there’s a lot of garbage, but one person’s garbage can be another’s treasure, and in this market, the gamer makes that decision. There are a lot of indie gems that might otherwise go unnoticed and Steam Direct has led to some remarkable games that would have never been produced otherwise.
6 Epic Games: Better Developer Support
One edge Epic Games has over Steam is the smaller royalty cut it takes from game developers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Steam asking for 30% given what they offer, but if you’re a developer looking to maximize profits and lower expenses to be able to produce more games, paying 12% versus 30% is a no brainer.
This is an advantage that Steam has even recognized, which led to Valve lowering its own royalty rates to 20-25% depending on the number of sales. Ultimately, Epic Games remains the marketplace to maximize your profit margins.
5 Steam: Globally Available
Gamers outside of the US might be more drawn to Steam given its prices are standardized across all markets. As Epic Games has regional pricing, the price of a game in one part of the world may be more or less expensive than in the US.
There have also been games locked out of specific regions, something that for the most part Steam has never done. It can be frustrating to hear about a new game coming to the US only to find it’s not available or more expensive in your country, which makes Steam a better choice.
4 Epic Games: Free Options
If you’re a gamer on a budget then Epic Games is the clear winner given the plethora of free games they’ve been offering. Granted this is temporary, but if someone has held an account since they started offering freebies since December 2018, they would have accumulated over 80 titles by now.
Sure they might not all be to everyone's cup of tea and plenty are indies that can be finished in an afternoon, but there have also been some popular titles like Subnautica, Enter The Gungeon, Alan Wake, the Batman Arkham collection, and the upcoming Just Cause 4, among others.
3 Steam: Community Engagement
For those looking to engage with others and make friends in the gaming community, Steam is the go-to choice. Epic Games is promising to work on this, but the majority of gamers are found on Steam and there are a ton of tools for interacting with others.
Granted, this may not be important for solo gamers or for those who connect with others through sites like Reddit or GameRant, but Steam is the ideal store for multiplayer gaming and sharing in-game victories.
2 Epic Games: Less Drama
That being said, being connected with everyone is not always a good thing. It is no secret that Steam has toxic communities within the platform and they can get really tiresome after a while.
Admittedly, Epic Games is only free of this because it has fewer interconnectivity options between players. But if all you want to do is play games and take a break from the toxic parts of the internet, then Epic Games is the best pick.
1 Steam: Open To Everyone
However, the other counter to the above point is that Steam allows for more freedom of expression. If someone is not a fan of a particular game, no matter how popular it is, they can share that opinion as much as they want.
This also goes for game development, Epic Games is slow to let anyone publish anything they want on its platform, which places a bottleneck on the release of indie titles. There are no such restrictions or delays on Steam. Unless a game is overtly problematic, there is nothing stopping a developer from publishing edgy, weird, or controversial content.