Epic Games is preparing a major rebuild of the Epic Games Store and Epic Games Launcher, with long requested features such as written user reviews, player profiles, better search, improved library management, controller support, and a redesigned storefront. The company is not claiming it will replace Steam as the top PC gaming store, but it appears focused on making its own platform faster, more useful, and more competitive.
The planned changes were shown through Epic’s roadmap, which outlines features coming sooner and later to the store and launcher. The update is being described as a ground up rebuild, which suggests Epic is not only adding surface level features but also reworking the core experience behind the launcher.
That matters because the Epic Games Store has often been criticized for feeling too basic compared with Steam, especially in areas like community tools, reviews, profiles, launcher speed, and library organization.
Epic is finally addressing long standing complaints
The Epic Games Store has improved over time, but it still lacks several features PC players expect from a major storefront. Steam has built a huge advantage over many years by offering user reviews, forums, workshop support, controller tools, profile features, social systems, and deep library options.
Epic’s new roadmap appears to target some of those gaps directly. The company is working on a storefront redesign, better launcher performance, improved search, and new ways for players to organize and interact with their libraries.
| Planned Epic Games Store feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Storefront redesign | Gives the store a cleaner and more modern look |
| Written user reviews | Helps players judge games before buying |
| Player profiles and avatars | Adds more identity and social presence |
| Better library management | Makes large game collections easier to organize |
| Improved search | Helps players find games faster |
| Cross region gifting | Makes gifting more flexible |
| Communities | Could give players forum style discussion spaces |
| Universal controller support | Improves play across more devices and games |
| Notification overhaul | Makes launcher alerts less messy |
| Performance improvements | Helps the launcher feel faster and smoother |
These features may sound obvious, but that is the point. Epic is trying to catch up on basic expectations that PC players have had for years.
Reviews and profiles could change how the store feels
Written user reviews may be one of the most important additions. On PC, reviews are not only a rating system. They are part of how players decide whether a game is worth buying, whether a port has performance problems, and whether updates have improved or damaged the experience.
Player profiles and avatars are also important because they make the store feel less empty. A digital storefront is stronger when players have identity, history, and social presence attached to it.
Epic has relied heavily on free games, exclusives, and developer friendly revenue terms to build its place in the PC market. Those helped bring attention to the store, but they did not fully solve the missing community layer.
Communities could help Epic compete more seriously with Steam
Epic is also working on communities, which may work similarly to Steam’s forums or game hubs. If done well, this could make the Epic Games Store more useful after a game is purchased.
Players often want places to discuss bugs, guides, updates, mods, patches, and gameplay tips. Steam has benefited from having those conversations built into the platform. Epic has often pushed players elsewhere for that kind of interaction.
Adding communities could make Epic feel more complete, especially for live service games and smaller titles that need active discussion to stay visible.
The launcher also needs to feel faster
Performance improvements are another key part of the roadmap. A launcher can have many features, but players will still dislike it if it feels slow, heavy, or inconvenient.
Epic says it is working on overall performance improvements for the launcher. That could be one of the most important changes because players interact with the launcher every time they install, update, or open a game.
Better library management is also necessary. Many Epic accounts now have large collections because of years of weekly free games. Without strong sorting, filtering, and organization tools, those libraries can become difficult to use.
Epic knows it is not replacing Steam anytime soon
The most realistic part of Epic’s approach is that the company appears to understand Steam’s position. Steam is not only popular because it sells games. It is deeply embedded in PC gaming culture, developer workflows, community discussion, modding, wishlists, controller support, and social features.
That kind of lead cannot be erased quickly.
But Epic does not need to become the next Steam to matter. A better Epic Games Store can still give developers another viable storefront and give players more options. Competition can also pressure Steam to keep improving instead of becoming too comfortable.
The rebuild could make Epic more useful for regular PC players
The Epic Games Store has already become a regular part of many PC players’ lives because of free games and select exclusive releases. The problem is that many people still use it only when they have to.
A stronger launcher could change that. If the store becomes faster, easier to search, better for reviews, better for discussions, and more comfortable for controller use, it may become a platform players choose more often.
That is the real goal. Epic does not need to win every PC player. It needs to make its store feel good enough that players stop treating it as a backup launcher.
Epic’s next challenge is execution
The roadmap sounds promising, but execution will decide whether players accept the rebuild. Features like reviews and communities can become useful only if they are designed well, moderated properly, and integrated naturally into the store.
A redesign also needs to improve usability, not simply change the look. PC players are quick to reject storefront updates that feel slower or more confusing than what came before.
Still, the direction is encouraging. Epic is finally focusing on the features that make a PC gaming platform feel complete. If the ground up rebuild delivers on performance, reviews, profiles, communities, better search, and stronger library tools, the Epic Games Store could become a much more serious everyday alternative for PC players.
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