An Epic Strategy: But Is It A Double Edge-Sword?
Epic’s "free game" strategy has reached a weird crossroads in 2026. On one hand, players are still feasting on massive titles—just last month, the holiday giveaway featured heavy hitters like Hogwarts Legacy and Disco Elysium. On the other, the financial cracks in the "Steam-killer" plan are harder to ignore.
If you’re wondering whether Epic is actually winning or just bleeding cash for clout, here’s the breakdown of how they’re holding up.
The Current State: Giving Away the House
In 2024, Epic gave away 89 games totaling about $2,200 in value per user. By the end of 2025, that number hasn't slowed down. They’ve even expanded the program to their new mobile stores on iOS and Android.
The 2025 holiday "Mystery Game" event was particularly aggressive. While a massive leak claiming Red Dead Redemption 2 would be free turned out to be partially debunked (it wasn't even on the store at the time), the actual lineup still included Total War: THREE KINGDOMS and Jurassic World Evolution 2. Epic is essentially using these games as "digital foot traffic" to force people to keep the launcher installed.
The Revenue Reality: Where's the Money?
This is where it gets sticky. If you look at the raw numbers, Epic is doing fine, but the Store itself is a different story:
The Billion-Dollar Milestone: The Epic Games Store (EGS) finally topped $1 billion in annual revenue in 2024.
The 3rd-Party Problem: Here’s the catch—roughly 75% of that revenue comes from Epic’s own games (Fortnite, Rocket League, Fall Guys).
Sales are actually dropping: Despite more users signing up to grab freebies, spending on third-party games (like Assassin's Creed or Cyberpunk) actually fell by about 18% year-over-year recently.
The verdict? The free games are great at getting people to "sign the guestbook," but they aren't great at making people open their wallets for anything other than Fortnite V-Bucks. Epic is essentially subsidizing a storefront that operates at a loss, funded entirely by the $6 billion a year Fortnite brings in.
Gamer Reactions: The "Epic Graveyard" vs. The "Free Library"
If you browse Reddit or Discord, the community is split into two very distinct camps:
1. The "Library Hoarders"
For many, the Epic Games Store has become a "digital shelf" of games they own but never play. There’s a running joke that an Epic library is where games go to die. Gamers love the freebies, but they still prefer the social features, achievements, and "feel" of Steam. They’ll claim Death Stranding for free on Epic, then go buy the sequel on Steam because that’s where their friends are.
2. The "Exclusivity" Haters
The sentiment toward Epic’s paid exclusivity deals (paying developers to stay off Steam) remains sour. While the free games are seen as a "pro-consumer" move, the exclusivity deals are viewed as "anti-consumer." Interestingly, Epic has pivoted slightly in 2025–2026, offering a "First Run" program where developers get 100% of the revenue for the first six months if they go exclusive.
Is it Sustainable?
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is playing the "long game." He’s betting that in 10 years, the kids who grew up getting 200 free games on Epic won't have the same loyalty to Steam that older gamers do.
However, with third-party sales stagnating, Epic is shifting its 2026 strategy toward the "Creator Economy." They are moving away from just being a shop and trying to become a platform where players build their own games (like Fortnite Creative and UGC).
The takeaway: As much as the community would want Free Games, but is it also hurting from the company that gives it away? Who would not give in to a free game? Old or New title, a free game is a free game. Though it is an invitation of either a DLC purchase or a sequel, we can not erase the fact that someone is paying for every free game you download.
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