The Epic Games Store (EGS) has managed to make its way into the PC industry despite the absolute dominance of Steam, a platform that breaks user records year after year. If the Epic store is known for something, it is for its strategy of giving away titles to attract an audience; However, what few knew is that these gifts not only benefit the players, but directly boost sales in the Valve store.

Dave Oshry, CEO of New Blood, revealed that after giving away his FPS Blood West in the EGS, lSales of the game on Steam skyrocketed by 200%. According to Oshry, the fact that a title is available for free on the Epic store actually works like an excellent advertising campaign for the Valve ecosystem.

“Blood West was free on EGS over the holidays and sold 200% more on Steam that day. Having your game free on Epic is great advertising for sales on Steam.”

The Epic Games Store dilemma: commissions vs. users

On a business level, the Epic Games Store offers much more attractive benefits for developers compared to its competition. While Epic offers 88% of the revenue (versus a 12% commission) and even 100% of the profits Until you reach the first million dollars in sales, Steam maintains a commission 30% standardwhich only decreases to 25% or 20% in specific cases of massive success.

Despite these superior financial conditions, developers face a fundamental problem: Epic community is significantly smaller. Dave Oshry is blunt about this, pointing out that receiving the full amount of income doesn’t do much good if the sales volume is non-existent.

“Epic could give developers 100% of sales and it means nothing if there are no sales. WHAT IS 100% OF $0?”

“I don’t know if it’s intentional or not, but (EGS) doesn’t have written reviews or forums. There’s nothing to do there but shop. That’s why it will always lose to a store that is emotional and where you can interact.”

Steam remains unstoppable in 2026

EGS’s lack of social tools, such as discussion forums, community marketplace, and a robust review system, remains the big wall that separates it from Valve. While Epic is betting on financial incentives for studios, Steam focuses on user retention and engagement.

This loyalty is reflected in the numbers. Just four days into 2026, Steam broke a new all-time record for online users, reaching the impressive figure of 41,816,052 simultaneously connected users. As long as the Epic Games Store continues to function primarily as a shopping and gift showcase, it seems that its destiny will continue to be to serve as an advertising platform for the Valve giant.