Defenseless! Analyst Says Epic Is Powerless Against Steam

Summary

An analyst from Newzoo, Emmanuelle Rosier, has publicly stated that the Epic Games Store is no longer able to pose a real threat to Steam, sparking widespread industry discussion. Rosier said that Valve, through long-term operation, has successfully made Steam an indispensable standard platform for PC players, while Epic is still working on basic launcher features such as download speed and client stability, highlighting a clear technical gap. He noted that Epic attracts users with weekly free game giveaways, but a large number of players just claim the games without actually playing them. This 'game collecting' behavior fails to translate into genuine user engagement or boost in-platform spending and community activity. The analyst argues that user habits are deeply entrenched. Steam's mature ecosystem—including community features, the Steam Workshop, cloud saves, and achievements—firmly holds the core needs of PC players, making it extremely difficult for Epic to change the landscape. This view underscores the fierce competition in the PC platform market and shows that relying solely on financial investment and free promotions is insufficient to shake an established ecosystem. For players, Steam remains the go-to platform. Epic needs to rethink its strategy, focusing on improving the core experience and building its ecosystem rather than depending on giveaways, or it will…