TechPowerUp published a report citing Epic Games Store employees who acknowledged that the storefront's signature free-game promotions drive meaningful traffic, but most of those users return to Steam for actual purchases.

The framing — that people "only came for free games, then returned to Steam" — captures a structural tension Epic has wrestled with since the storefront's December 2018 launch.

What did Epic employees actually say?

TechPowerUp's reporting centers on candid internal commentary from Epic Games Store staff, who described a pattern in which players arrive at the storefront primarily to claim weekly free titles distributed through Epic's long-running promotion, then redirect their spending back to Valve's Steam. The critique lands on the conversion side of Epic's user-acquisition funnel rather than the awareness side.

How does this square with Epic's storefront strategy?

Epic's free-games program has operated continuously since 2018, dispensing titles whose combined retail value runs into the thousands of dollars. The promotional engine underpins a wider fight against Steam's near-monopoly on PC game distribution. Valve's storefront still holds an estimated 75% or higher share of PC game sales by most third-party trackers, a figure Epic has never publicly contested.

The free-game handouts serve a specific purpose: install Epic's launcher as software players cannot delete, then convert claimers into Epic-store buyers over time. The TechPowerUp report indicates that the second half of that equation remains the program's weak point.

What changes for studios and publishers?

For developers evaluating where to publish, the practical implications cut several directions:

• Exclusive launches through Epic's storefront still come with the 88/12 revenue split favoring developers, a structural advantage over Steam's standard 70/30 model
• Free-game placement via Epic exposes products to audiences that may not convert into long-term customers on either store
• Storefront diversification remains the default strategy for mid-sized and larger publishers, with most major releases shipping on both platforms simultaneously

The takeaway for studios remains unchanged by the reporting itself: no single PC platform has displaced Steam as the default purchase destination, despite six years of sustained competition from Epic.

What market signals are worth watching?

Three indicators will show whether Epic's posture is shifting. First, any change in cadence, value tier or genre mix of the weekly free-game promotions. Second, the next round of developer revenue-share disclosures, which Epic has published selectively through year-end recaps in prior years. Third, competitive moves from Valve, including Steam seasonal sales expansion and Steam Deck-driven engagement metrics, which the Epic employees cited in the TechPowerUp report appear to view as the gravitational center pulling users back into Steam's purchase flow.

Until Epic can demonstrate that free-game claimants translate into Epic-Store purchasers, the storefront will continue operating as a high-visibility acquisition channel rather than a primary revenue destination for the publisher and its developer partners. The next indication of whether that calculus changes will come with Epic's usual year-end performance update.