Despite being in the market for almost five years, the Epic Games Store is not profitable yet. Since its launch, the Epic Games Store has been in fierce competition with Steam, using free games and exclusive Epic Games Store releases such as Tchia, Alan Wake 2, and Salt and Sacrifice to attract a wider customer base.

The Epic Games Store was released in December 2018. During this time, hundreds of free games were offered on the Epic Games Store, but it seems that this was not enough to make enough people spend money on the platform instead of Steam.

Related

Epic Games Store Reveals Free Game for November 9

The Epic Games Store updates its free game section, releasing a new game for users to claim and revealing what follows it on Nov 9.

As recently spotted by The Verge, the store is still yet to turn a profit after all these years. The information comes from files related to the ongoing Epic vs. Google judicial case, in which the platform’s boss, Steve Allison, confirmed that the Epic Game Store is still spending more money on its operations than it is gaining from game sales. Initially, the platform was hoping to acquire at least half of the PC gaming market revenue, but it seems to be failing at that goal for now, as Steam remains by far the most popular pick for PC gamers.

Overall, recent times have not been very good for Epic Games. Last month, Epic Games cut its staff by 16%, firing 870 employees. While layoffs are happening in several video game companies this year, they hint at worsening financial conditions for Epic. At the time of the layoffs, the company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, talked about how the change focused on profitability, and how even with games like Fortnite achieving growth, revenue margins were pretty low, and the cuts were necessary to adjust the company’s budget for the future.

Despite its profitability issues, the Epic Games Store continues to give out free games every week. Currently, gamers can claim Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion on the Epic Games Store. This short and cute game is inspired by the mechanics and style of the Legend of Zelda series and allows the gamer to play as the Turnip Boy, a funny character that owes money to the mayor and has to work to pay his debt. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion will remain available in the store until November 9, when it will be replaced by Golden Light. Golden Light is an over-the-top FPS roguelike with strong Doom vibes, and will possibly be a fairly interesting experience for fans of the genre.

Epic Games Store

A digital video game storefront for Windows PC and macOS created and operated by Epic Games. Originally launched in December 2018, Epic Games Store is both a website as well as a standalone launcher.