The Epic Games Store has made a name for itself in the world of video game storefronts through a host of exclusive and timed exclusive titles like Cold Symmetry's Mortal Shell to help differentiate it from Valve's Steam. One feature it has lacked compared to its competition is an achievements system, but today Epic Games announced over Twitter that an early version of unlockable achievements is rolling out for certain games.
Epic Games Store's social media post specifically showcases Ark: Survival Evolved, which has achievements through Xbox, PlayStation 4, and Steam already. A full list of the games featuring achievements while Epic Games works on changing and adjusting its system is not provided, but its tweet says the team will "have more info to share on achievements in the future."
Giving players an extra incentive to stick with a game by completing certain challenges or goals established by their developers is undoubtedly a good move for the platform, especially given how many exclusive titles it hosts. Thanks to its free weekly giveaways, the Epic Games Store has grown massively since launch in terms of concurrent users, so it makes sense for them to finally be taking steps toward a more robust service.
Achievements are a particularly big draw for those who enjoy completing games to the fullest or accumulating virtual clout through means such as Xbox's GamerScore. The creation of GamerScore, PlayStation's trophies, and more have also inspired the development of games like Skully, according to Finish Line Games' Lead Designer Jason Canam, who cited achievement-based systems as his favorite innovation from the seventh console generation.
For any developers who are publishing their games through the Epic Games Store as it transitions into having achievements, the company provides a sample page that demonstrates operations related to these new unlockables. It is unclear when a full discussion of the feature will be made available, but Epic Games seems to be moving in the right direction.
This is not the only thing that has been implemented recently that brings the Epic Games Store closer to its chief competitor. Epic Games is currently running a summer sale, set to end on August 6, which appears similar to the Steam Summer Sale which ended its yearly run on July 9. It should be interesting to see how the storefront uses these kinds of systems to its advantage going forward.
Source: Epic Games Achievements Sample