Epic Games Store GM fires back at analyst who says it cannot recover against Steam
A market analyst has argued that the Epic Games Store is unlikely to ever recover ground against Steam, but Epic’s own vice president has countered that the store’s internal data paints a far more optimistic picture.
Emmanuel Rosier, director of market intelligence at analyst firm Newzoo, told PC Gamer that he does not see how the Epic Games Store can turn its fortunes around. “Steam has become so inevitable,” he said, describing the platform as too dominant for new or returning players to ignore. Rosier suggested that Epic’s long-running strategy of offering free weekly games has not translated into genuine engagement. “People just go, they log in, they get the free games, they don’t even play them,” he said. “It’s almost like collecting games rather than actually playing them.”
Rosier’s comments echo earlier reports that players treat the Epic Games Store as a source of free titles but return to Steam when they are ready to spend money. He argued that Steam’s entrenchment makes it “inevitable,” a position that is difficult for any competitor to challenge.
Epic’s response came from Martin Keely, vice president and general manager of the Epic Games Store. In a statement to PC Gamer, Keely said, “The data tells a very different story.” He cited two key figures from 2025: a record 2.78 billion hours spent playing third-party games on the Epic Games Store, and a 57% increase in player spending on third-party PC games, reaching an all-time high of $400 million. Keely added that the company expects the upcoming launcher redesign to accelerate that momentum.
A wider problem of focus
Rosier also argued that Epic Games is spreading itself too thin by trying to compete on multiple fronts simultaneously. “They try to win against Steam, they try to win against Apple, against Google Play, and probably they run out of steam on where they cannot fight all these battles at the same time,” he said. The analyst noted that Epic’s scope includes not only the Epic Games Store and Fortnite, but also the Unreal Engine and mobile platforms on both iOS and Android. For a publicly traded company that must report to investors, this breadth of ambition may dilute focus, particularly when challenging a privately owned giant like Steam, which has more flexibility to take risks.
Rosier acknowledged that Epic is doing well overall, largely thanks to Fortnite. “They probably need to focus on what really matters,” he said, pointing to recent improvements in Fortnite’s state over the past six to twelve months. He praised the game’s willingness to coexist with other titles, noting that “it’s a gaming platform that’s not even competing any more with other games. If you are launching a game, it makes sense to do some marketing within Fortnite.” He even expressed surprise that Grand Theft Auto VI has not held a trailer event inside Fortnite.
Newzoo distances itself from the analyst’s remarks
Newzoo itself clarified that Rosier’s comments “should not be treated as a Newzoo market assessment,” distancing the firm from the analyst’s personal views. Nonetheless, the broader point about Steam’s dominance remains hard to dispute. Valve turned 30 years old on the day of the interview, and for the vast majority of that time Steam has been the default platform for PC gaming. While the Epic Games Store will continue to benefit from being the only place to download Fortnite, overtaking Steam would require a massive shift in the market.
The Epic Games Store redesign, which promises a refined user interface, better game discovery, and Linux support, is expected to launch later this year. Whether that will be enough to change the narrative remains to be seen, but Epic’s leadership is clearly betting that the numbers will speak for themselves.