Epic Games is upgrading its PC storefront with features long standard on Valve's Steam, according to a report from ExtremeTech — the clearest signal yet that Epic wants its store to compete on usability rather than exclusives and free games alone.

For studios and publishers watching storefront economics, the move matters. Epic takes a 12% commission on sales, versus Steam's 30% (dropping to 25% and 20% at higher revenue tiers), and Epic has framed its store as the developer-friendly alternative since its 2018 launch. The catch has always been the client: missing features, slow updates and a thin discovery layer have kept engagement below Steam's, limiting the effective reach of that better revenue split.

What does the upgrade change for developers?

A storefront that closes the feature gap with Steam changes the practical calculus for PC release planning:

• Studios that skipped Epic over missing store functionality get a fresh reason to evaluate the 88/12 split.
• Better discovery and store tooling can improve visibility for smaller titles without paid marketing budgets.
• Publishers running simultaneous launches on both platforms face fewer parity questions when the Epic client matches Steam's baseline experience.

Epic has spent years closing specific gaps — it added a shopping cart in 2021, self-service publishing tools in 2023, and achievements and mod support along the way. Each addition responded to a recurring complaint from players and developers that the store launched without basics Steam users took for granted.

The full detail of the ExtremeTech report was not carried in the syndicated headline, so developers should watch Epic's own channels for the specific features shipping in this update and their rollout timing.

Why now?

Epic's store strategy has shifted since the era of aggressive timed exclusives. The company now leans on its weekly free-game giveaways, its Fortnite ecosystem, and the Epic Games Store's growing library to drive adoption. Fortnite's return to iOS in the EU and its broader distribution push have also expanded the number of accounts flowing through Epic's ecosystem, raising the stakes for a storefront that can retain those users on PC.

For Epic, which also operates Unreal Engine with royalty terms tied to revenue thresholds, a stronger storefront deepens its direct relationship with developers across both its engine and distribution businesses.

What to watch next

Watch for Epic's next storefront update announcement — the specific feature list and whether the company publishes updated monthly active user and spending figures, which would show whether the usability push is converting into transactions.