As many PC players know, the Valve operated storefront Steam is widely regarded as the definitive place for acquiring PC games. It could be argued that Valve has essentially created a monopoly on the purchasing and owning of computer games. However, recently Some Developers have tried to combat this by creating their own Virtual Storefronts. Of these contenders Epic Game’s Epic Games Store is one that may offer the most challenge. To bolster traffic to their site, Epic Games has decided to make several of their upcoming titles exclusive to the Epic Games Store, negating Steams access to them. This has sparked outrage among many consumers many of whom hold a fondness for Steam as their preferred storefront of choice and have a dislike for Epic Games due to several mistakes the company has made in the past.
Many people believed that this would result in a disaster for Epic Games, hurting both their Storefront and the sales of their games. However, despite what someone listening to what the consumers would believe, it appears the anger toward the Epic Store has not been backed up with action. Both Metro: Exodus and the newly released Borderlands 3 have made more than their Steam hosted predecessors by a wide margin. This could be a worrying development for Valve, showing signs that their era of PC industry domination may be in its twilight years.
Though this success may cause Epic Games to feel more confident in their mission, it is important that they remain cautious. They already have a poor reputation among many consumers, and though it appears they are one the rise, all it will take is one misstep and Valve will reassert its place atop the PC industry pile.
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