Support us on Patreon
PayPalEpic Games have release their 2025 Year in Review for the Epic Games Store, and they appear to be doing doing quite well compared to previous years. Be sure to check out our guide to play titles from Epic Games Store on SteamOS / Linux.
For 2025 they're reporting 317 million total PC users, with a 67 million average for monthly active users (-1%) and 31 million average daily active users (-2%).
Epic has a lot of cash thanks to the success of Fortnite, and they've been burning through it to get people into using their store along with giving out all those free games (100 given away free in 2025). So third-party PC game revenue is essential if they want the store to actually succeed and it appears they are starting to turn things around.
Epic reported $1.16 billion spent by PC players (+6%), with $400 million (+57%) spent on third-party PC games in the store. If we go back and compare to previous years for third-party game spending:
- 2025: $400 million
- 2024: $255 million
- 2023: $310 million
- 2022: $355 million
- 2021: $300 million
- 2020: $265 million
- 2019: $251 million
So not only have they turned that number around but it was clearly their best year yet for it.
An interesting point mentioned by Epic is how their free game giveaways can actually help Steam releases too.
The Free Games Program also continued to drive discovery and engagement. In 2025, players claimed 662 million titles through the program. Over 77% of games set an all-time peak CCU record on the Store during the week of their free offer. This delivered a measurable halo effect across the broader PC ecosystem, including a 40% lift in Steam CCU while the title was free on the Epic Games Store.
This halo effect they mentioned was backed up by New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry, who mentioned on X/Twitter back in January how "Blood West was free on EGS over the holidays and sold like 200% more on Steam that day".
Epic Game Store actually saw a decrease in hours spent gaming at 6.65 billion (-14%), with time spent in third-party games at 2.78 billion (+4) so players are spending more but overall gaming on it less.
The Epic Games Store itself is also set to expand with new social experiences and community spaces, along with enhancements planned to their cross-platform text chat with features like avatars, player profiles, and private messaging. They're also planning to add a "cross-platform library for players across PC and mobile, and we’re introducing regional storefronts with localized discovery" along with improvements on mobile too.
On top of that they're going to launch a new "official program to help developers sell more games on the Epic Games Store by leveraging the marketing power of Fortnite". They said players who buy specific games will "get a Fortnite cosmetic along with a matching character avatar for their Epic account profile".
See more in the Epic Games blog post.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
See more from me
See more from me
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
You can also find comments for this article on social media: All posts need to follow our rules. Please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Readers can also email us for any issues or concerns.
So far the only good thing in Epic is that they got regional pricing right for me (or at least in Poland).
I still don't trust that clown Sweeney.
I still don't trust that clown Sweeney.
1 Likes
This delivered a measurable halo effect across the broader PC ecosystem, including a 40% lift in Steam CCU while the title was free on the Epic Games Store.Been there, done that. Tried a freebie game on EGS and liked it, but I wanted the DLC too. Went ahead and bought the whole kit - but on Steam of course!
4 Likes
scorp10n2000 6 hours ago
Why would anyone want to buy games on Un-Epic (shit)Store? 🤔
I only buy games on Steam and GOG.
I only buy games on Steam and GOG.
7 Likes
williamjcm 6 hours ago
The reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.
Last edited by williamjcm on 4 Feb 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
Last edited by williamjcm on 4 Feb 2026 at 1:25 pm UTC
1 Likes
A 57% increase from a low number still results in a low number. I'm all for competition but I have zero interest in EGS and all the drama around it. I'm not creating an account there no matter how many games they give away.
5 Likes
Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
2 Likes
Arehandoro 5 hours ago
Quoting: scorp10n2000Why would anyone want to buy games on Un-Epic (shit)Store? 🤔UnEpic however is a great Metroidvania parody (although the humour is very teenager-stoner like 😅)
I only buy games on Steam and GOG.
I also buy only on Steam and GOG.
3 Likes
I'd be curious how much of those $400 million even ended up in Epic's pockets.
Technically they take 12% - so 48 million would be the maximum. But they don't charge for the first million at all. And then they have that reward system as well where you get money back for your next purchase. Wasn't that like 20%?
How much money have they lost running the store this year?
Technically they take 12% - so 48 million would be the maximum. But they don't charge for the first million at all. And then they have that reward system as well where you get money back for your next purchase. Wasn't that like 20%?
How much money have they lost running the store this year?
0 Likes
Quoting: ArehandoroUnEpic however is a great Metroidvania parody (although the humour is very teenager-stoner like 😅)I was about to post the same. And the humor is what makes it so fun. 😄
2 Likes
QuadrantThree 5 hours ago
Quoting: kuhpunktI'd be curious how much of those $400 million even ended up in Epic's pockets.A sizable portion of it is probably from Unreal Engine. UE5 is currently the industry standard game engine, being used by both indie and AAA. Unfortunately, UE5 being the popular engine also means more money goes to Tim Sweeney.
Technically they take 12% - so 48 million would be the maximum. But they don't charge for the first million at all. And then they have that reward system as well where you get money back for your next purchase. Wasn't that like 20%?
How much money have they lost running the store this year?
0 Likes
Quoting: QuadrantThreeA sizable portion of it is probably from Unreal Engine. UE5 is currently the industry standard game engine, being used by both indie and AAA. Unfortunately, UE5 being the popular engine also means more money goes to Tim Sweeney.It's just the third party purchases from the store - licensing fees for the engine would be extra.
0 Likes
I'm curious to see what the future holds for the Epic Games Store. It's well known that Tim Sweeney is very anti-Linux and with more and more people leaving Windows behind, sooner or later he will have major problems with that attitude.
1 Likes
I don't get the hate for Epic. I've never bought from them because I didn't want to have more launchers, but now that I use Steam and Heroic I have no real reason not to if the price is right. I get all their free games and have played plenty of them with no issues.
I am glad Epic is doing better. More competition means that Steam (and GOG) won't be able to sit around.
Now, I'm not saying everyone should start buying on Epic - you do you - but clearly enough people are buying that Epic isn't failing, and that IMHO is a good thing.
I am glad Epic is doing better. More competition means that Steam (and GOG) won't be able to sit around.
Now, I'm not saying everyone should start buying on Epic - you do you - but clearly enough people are buying that Epic isn't failing, and that IMHO is a good thing.
2 Likes
williamjcm 3 hours ago
Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
0 Likes
Quoting: williamjcmNot everyone pays a VAT and the largest gaming market outside of China is the USA.. the USA alone is the largest market by a long shot compared to any country that pays a VAT. Point is that math don't math.Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
Last edited by tohur on 4 Feb 2026 at 4:40 pm UTC
0 Likes
Quoting: EikeThe USA is the SECOND largest market at around $50 billion.. the next closest market is Japan at $17 billion.. like I said the math he put up does NOT math for obvious reasonsQuoting: tohurThe math doesn't math. But the US is a small part of the world's game market.Quoting: williamjcmNot everyone pays a VAT and the largest gaming market outside of China is the USA.. the USA alone is the largest market by a long shot compared to any country that pays a VAT. Point is that math don't math.Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
0 Likes
Quoting: eggroleI don't get the hate for Epic. I've never bought from them because I didn't want to have more launchers, but now that I use Steam and Heroic I have no real reason not to if the price is right. I get all their free games and have played plenty of them with no issues.Well said! Steam is a monopoly, however benign, and competition is essential. I am also happy that Epic is doing better.
I am glad Epic is doing better. More competition means that Steam (and GOG) won't be able to sit around.
Now, I'm not saying everyone should start buying on Epic - you do you - but clearly enough people are buying that Epic isn't failing, and that IMHO is a good thing.
I've gotten pretty much every free game Epic has given away and have played quite a few - there's very little effort involved in getting them to run on Linux, either through Wine or through Steam/Proton or with launchers like Heroic, especially since most of them are DRM-free. I've even purchased a couple of games on Epic because they were great deals at the time compared to Steam: Subnautica: Below Zero and Outer Wilds.
Last edited by seamoose on 4 Feb 2026 at 6:05 pm UTC
1 Likes
Quoting: tohurI agreed with you that the math doesn't math?!?Quoting: EikeThe USA is the SECOND largest market at around $50 billion.. the next closest market is Japan at $17 billion.. like I said the math he put up does NOT math for obvious reasonsQuoting: tohurThe math doesn't math. But the US is a small part of the world's game market.Quoting: williamjcmNot everyone pays a VAT and the largest gaming market outside of China is the USA.. the USA alone is the largest market by a long shot compared to any country that pays a VAT. Point is that math don't math.Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
It doesn't matter if they're the second largest or the largest or the third largest. What matters is their size compared to the sum of the others. Well, in the end to the others that take VAT, but I won't try to figure that out.
My point was that the US is a minority in the whole PC gaming market. Depending on whom you ask it may be below 20 or around 30 percent, but either way a minority.
(I had deleted my post because I decided not to go into this deeper, but you were too fast. ;) )
0 Likes
Quoting: EikeThe only Europe countries that even show up in the top ten is Germany, UK, and France.. and those 3 combined are less then Japan.. the rest are MUCH less then one of those 3. like I said the vast majority of gamers that spend money do NOT pay a VATQuoting: tohurI agreed with you that the math doesn't math?!?Quoting: EikeThe USA is the SECOND largest market at around $50 billion.. the next closest market is Japan at $17 billion.. like I said the math he put up does NOT math for obvious reasonsQuoting: tohurThe math doesn't math. But the US is a small part of the world's game market.Quoting: williamjcmNot everyone pays a VAT and the largest gaming market outside of China is the USA.. the USA alone is the largest market by a long shot compared to any country that pays a VAT. Point is that math don't math.Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
It doesn't matter if they're the second largest or the largest or the third largest. What matters is their size compared to the sum of the others. Well, in the end to the others that take VAT, but I won't try to figure that out.
My point was that the US is a minority in the whole PC gaming market. Depending on whom you ask it may be below 20 or around 30 percent, but either way a minority.
(I had deleted my post because I decided not to go into this deeper, but you were too fast. ;) )
Last edited by tohur on 4 Feb 2026 at 5:07 pm UTC
0 Likes
Quoting: tohurIt seems I misunderstood you on what maths and what not.Quoting: EikeThe only Europe countries that even show up in the top ten is Germany, UK, and France.. and those 3 combined are less then Japan.. the rest are MUCH less then one of those 3. like I said the vast majority of gamers that spend money do NOT pay a VATQuoting: tohurI agreed with you that the math doesn't math?!?Quoting: EikeThe USA is the SECOND largest market at around $50 billion.. the next closest market is Japan at $17 billion.. like I said the math he put up does NOT math for obvious reasonsQuoting: tohurThe math doesn't math. But the US is a small part of the world's game market.Quoting: williamjcmNot everyone pays a VAT and the largest gaming market outside of China is the USA.. the USA alone is the largest market by a long shot compared to any country that pays a VAT. Point is that math don't math.Quoting: EgonautI mean, it would still have increased compared to the previous year, just *much less* than what Epic's claiming. For example, if we assume that everyone on the EGS paid a 20% VAT, then the "before VAT" spending would have been around 333M$, which would seem much less impressive.Quoting: williamjcmThe reason the third-party sale numbers increased by that much is because they now include VAT, while previous years didn't include it to my knowledge.That makes no sense, where in the world do we have 57% VAT?
It doesn't matter if they're the second largest or the largest or the third largest. What matters is their size compared to the sum of the others. Well, in the end to the others that take VAT, but I won't try to figure that out.
My point was that the US is a minority in the whole PC gaming market. Depending on whom you ask it may be below 20 or around 30 percent, but either way a minority.
(I had deleted my post because I decided not to go into this deeper, but you were too fast. ;) )
(*sigh * I did not want to be pulled into this...)
According to what I read, most US states do have sales taxes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States
... and so does China:
https://globaltaxnews.ey.com/news/2025-0133-china-officially-enacts-vat-law-ushering-in-a-new-era-of-tax-governance
Last edited by Eike on 4 Feb 2026 at 6:05 pm UTC
0 Likes
How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
How to install Hollow Knight: Silksong mods on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck