Epic Games Store Fires Back at ‘No Recovery’ Claim With Record $400 Million Spending

The Epic Games Store is preparing for one of its biggest changes since launching nearly eight years ago. Epic hopes a faster launcher and redesigned storefront can strengthen its position in PC gaming. Yet questions remain over whether those improvements can change habits built around Steam. A recent analyst assessment has now sparked a public response from Epic and even a clarification from the analyst’s own company.

Epic fights back

Emmanuel Rosier, director of market intelligence at Newzoo, told PC Gamer that he does not see how the Epic Games Store can recover against Steam. He argued that Epic attracts users through free games, but many simply claim them without becoming regular customers.

One example involved Blood West, whose Steam sales reportedly jumped around 200% on the day it became free through Epic. Players wanting to keep their libraries together could help explain the unusual result, although one title cannot establish wider gaming trends on its own.

Epic Games Store vice president and general manager Martin Keely strongly disputed Rosier’s assessment. Players spent a record 2.78 billion hours playing third-party games through EGS in 2025, while third-party PC game spending rose 57% to an all-time high of $400 million. Those figures suggest Epic still has a substantial gaming audience despite the questions surrounding its position against Valve.

Launcher gets rebuilt

Epic’s response also points towards its upcoming overhaul. The launcher is being rebuilt from the ground up, with previous testing indicating startup speeds around five to 6.5 times faster on average. Changes to the store include personalised recommendations, quick-access categories and patch notes. Such features could make finding the latest game releases easier while addressing longstanding complaints about the launcher.

Steam’s advantage, however, goes beyond performance. Years of purchases, wishlists, friends, user game reviews, community features and Workshop mods give players reasons to keep their existing libraries in one place. Rosier also believes Epic has spread its attention across too many battles, including competition with Steam, Apple and Google. Those efforts come alongside Fortnite, Unreal Engine and Epic’s wider involvement in game development.

Newzoo distances itself

The story took another turn when Newzoo distanced itself from Rosier’s remarks. It said the comments were not supported by its data or analysis and failed to consider relevant public evidence. Newzoo stressed that the interview should therefore not be treated as an official company assessment. The distinction matters given its role tracking gaming trends and market performance.

Rosier remains more optimistic about Fortnite, pointing to its growing collection of videogame crossovers. Sonic, Pac-Man, Crash Bandicoot, Mega Man, Sora and Joker are among the characters appearing in its current season. Fortnite could function as a platform where publishers promote other games rather than simply compete for players.

The company’s ambitions also extend beyond today’s storefront, with previous comments indicating plans to bring EGS to Microsoft’s next Xbox hardware. Ultimately, the coming overhaul provides a major test of whether better technology can turn Epic’s existing audience into more committed customers. Steam remains deeply established, but Epic’s latest figures show the fight is far from over.