Steam was once the undisputed king of gaming clients for PC gaming. However, times change, and the digital Epic Games Store has grown in stature since 2018. Although Steam remains somewhat larger in terms of digital market share, Epic has become a notable alternative gaming client. Both provide libraries for organizing and launching Windows games, but Epic and Valve have somewhat different philosophies for what a gaming client should offer. Let’s consider which is the better gaming client in a Steam vs. Epic Games comparison across several categories.
Library Size: Steam
When it comes to games available for download, Steam is clearly better than Epic. Steam includes more than 100,000 Windows PC games dating back decades. That library includes the overwhelming majority of AAA PC titles, along with more obscure Indie games.
In comparison, estimates suggest the Epic library includes more than 6,000 games. Although the number of games available on Epic has substantially increased, its catalog is still much smaller than Steam’s library. That’s especially the case for indie and niche games because Epic has a more curated selection.
Free Games: Epic Games
Epic Games has generously given away one or two free games every week since 2018 to lure players away from Steam. Its free game promotions aren’t just for cheaper titles either, as Epic has given away many highly-rated AAA titles, such as Civilization 6, Alien Isolation, Tomb Raider Trilogy, Prey, Control, and Grand Theft Auto V. Steam does occasionally offer some free game giveaways, but these are far less regular than Epic. So, Epic is the winner for free game promotions.
Exclusive Games: Draw
For exclusive games, it’s hard to say which gaming client is better. Steam has a collection of exclusive Valve games that aren’t available on Epic. Games like Half-Life 2, Half-Life (or Black Mesa), Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike 2, and Project Zomboid are popular titles exclusively for Steam. If you want to play Valve’s top titles, you’ll need to install Steam.
However, Epic Games also has its fair share of notable exclusive titles. Epic establishes exclusive deals with some renowned publishers to launch their games on EG before Steam for a year or so. Alan Wake 2 and Alan Wake Remastered are two permanent Epic Games exclusives, with the upcoming Lord of the Rings 2 and Wolf Among Us 2 also announced to be long-term exclusives for EGS. Popular free-to-play games like Fortnite, Rocket League, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and Fall Guys are exclusive to Epic Games.
Overlay and Features: Steam
Steam is clearly superior to Epic Games when it comes to overlay and features. For starters, Epic Games doesn’t have an overlay. Steam has an overlay you can activate with the Shift + Tab hotkey that includes screenshot, in-game browser, performance, and gaming performance monitor features, among others.
Steam also has some notable features beyond its overlay that you don’t get on Epic. It includes a unique Big Picture Mode interface designed for handhelds and TVs. The Steam Input feature offers deep customization for almost all controllers. Plus, Steam has a forum and community hub for player reviews and guides.
Modding: Steam
Steam is also clearly better for mods and modding than Epic Games. The Steam Workshop includes a multitude of mods that players can add to numerous games by clicking installation options for them. That centralized ecosystem for plug-and-play modding is much more user-friendly than what Epic offers. Although Epic does support modding for certain games, EGS users need to manually download and install mod files via third-party sites.
Virtual Reality: Steam
Although Epic does support VR gaming, SteamVR is the industry standard platform for virtual reality. SteamVR supports nearly all mainstream virtual reality. The Steam gaming client and its SteamVR software are also a mandatory requirement for the Valve Index headset.
In contrast, Epic Games doesn’t have a dedicated VR framework. You can launch VR games via that client, but they’ll often activate Oculus or SteamVR software anyway. Therefore, Valve’s gaming client is obviously better suited for virtual reality due to SteamVR.
User Interface Design: Epic Games
The Steam vs Epic Games might be a bit more debatable when it comes to user interface design. However, many users prefer the more streamlined, cleaner UI design in Epic Games. Steam is a feature-rich gaming client with a more cluttered interface design. With more extensive features, Steam also hogs more system resources, which can impact gaming performance. For users who just want to click on Play to launch games, the minimalist Epic Games interface design is a refreshing alternative.
The Steam vs Epic Games Winner is…
This Steam vs Epic Games comparison reveals Valve’s gaming client to be better than Epic Games. Steam beats Epic 4-2 (in footballing terms) because of its superior virtual reality support, modding community, general features, and library size. Although Epic Games offers great free game promotions and a refreshing UI design, Steam remains a better all-around gaming client. Epic Games is still some way behind Steam in gaming ecosystem terms.
However, both Steam and Epic Games are freely available game clients. Thus, you don’t necessarily have to choose between them. If you want to play Fortnite, Fall Guys, or Rocket League on PC, you must install Epic. You’ll need to install Steam to play most of Valve’s greatest games. You can get the best of both worlds by installing Steam and Epic.
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