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Epic Store’s GTA V Freebie Failed to Derail the Steam Juggernaut

Last Updated September 23, 2020 2:01 PM
Thomas Bardwell
Last Updated September 23, 2020 2:01 PM
  • The Epic Game Store now has over 61 million monthly active users.
  • Epic Games recorded an all-time concurrent player peak of 13 million during the recent The Vault campaign, which included a free copy of GTA V.
  • Despite this growth, the Epic Games Store continues to trail behind Steam by a considerable margin.

Epic Games’ GTA V giveaway last month was something of a coup for its relatively new digital storefront, the Epic Games Store.

Unsurprisingly, millions flocked to secure a free copy of Rockstar Games’ acclaimed title. The Epic Games Store even went down for a few hours as a consequence as it struggled to manage the demand.

Epic Games Store Sets New Records

It’s certainly paid dividends, according to new data released by Epic Games . The Epic Games Store now has over 61 million monthly active users. The storefront also hit an all-time concurrent users peak of 13 million.

Epic Games reached these figures during the recent The Vault campaign. The campaign ran from May 14 until June 18 and featured a free game on each successive week. As Epic explains, it ‘decided to go big’ and aggressively court gamers.

Epic Games Store GTA V Boom Is Impressive, but Steam Is Still Top Dog

Among the free games were some of the most high profile ever to grace the storefront’s weekly giveaway, including GTA V, Civilization 6, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, and Ark: Survival Evolved.

Epic says the results have exceeded expectations, and the storefront has grown at a historical rate in 2020. It will be interesting to see whether these figures remains steadfast as the GTA V boom simmers down.

Steam Remains Top Dog

While Epic basks in the light of these figures, which are impressive for a storefront launched in late 2018, they pale compared to Steam.

Epic Games Store GTA V Boom Is Impressive, but Steam Is Still Top Dog

At the peak of the pandemic lockdown in April, Valve’s storefront hit an all-time concurrent player peak of 24,535,923 users , nearly twice that of Epic Games Store’s best.

On an average day, Steam attracts roughly 20 million players. The number of monthly active users on Steam is close to 95 million, according to figures published by Valve in a 2019 Year in Review .

It’s no secret that Epic Games hopes to compete with Steam in the long run. Despite massive growth, there’s still a long road ahead to dethrone dominant top dog Steam.