The Epic Games Store is poised for a significant transformation, as outlined in a recent presentation at Unreal Fest in Chicago. The company has unveiled an ambitious roadmap detailing a series of long-requested features and a comprehensive redesign of its digital storefront, aimed at enhancing the experience for both gamers and developers.
Upcoming Features and Enhancements
According to slides shared by X/Twitter user @LuKaOnIndeed, the next twelve months will see a plethora of updates that include:
- Fortnite chunked installation
- Third-party patch notes
- Pre-registration for free-to-play games
- Storefront rearchitecture
- Library management improvements
These features are expected to roll out sooner rather than later, while additional updates such as player profiles, user-written reviews, publisher-funded coupons, and enhanced search capabilities are slated for a later phase.
Although Epic has not specified whether these updates will be released in phases or provided exact timelines for their rollout, the introduction of user reviews and patch notes could significantly enhance the platform’s appeal to potential users who have been hesitant to embrace the Epic Games Store for their PC gaming needs.
Launched in 2018, the Epic Games Store was designed to serve as a competitive hub for PC gaming, offering exclusive titles, free cross-platform services, and complimentary games to its users. Epic’s founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, expressed the company’s vision for a platform that fosters direct connections between developers and players, a vision that was bolstered by the success of Fortnite.
However, the Epic Games Store has faced challenges in competing with established platforms like Steam. Reports from 2021 indicated that Epic had incurred substantial losses due to exclusivity agreements, and court documents revealed that the store had yet to achieve profitability five years after its launch.
Many gamers have cited the absence of certain features at launch as a barrier to adopting the Epic Games Store. While some enhancements have been introduced over the years, the latest roadmap promises a more extensive overhaul. Notably, one slide from the Unreal Fest presentation highlighted a “ground-up rebuild” of the launcher, which is expected to deliver a five-times faster cold start experience.
Steve Allison, the VP and GM of the Epic Games Store, shared insights earlier this year regarding the team’s vision for the platform’s future. As anticipation builds around the implementation of these redesign changes, discussions continue about whether the Epic Games Store can ever rival Steam’s dominance in the market.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN, known for his contributions to various gaming publications. Follow him on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
