Epic Games Store Achieves Record Sales Growth for Third-Party Games in 2025, Surpassing 317 Million PC Users

The Growing Success of the Epic Games Store in 2025

The Epic Games Store (EGS) continues to carve out its niche in the competitive digital gaming marketplace, as highlighted in its recent 2025 Year in Review blog post. Although it has yet to surpass Steam, the storefront is witnessing substantial growth, particularly in user engagement and third-party game sales. Notably, the platform is recognized for its strategy of distributing free games, which has driven higher player interaction beyond simply claiming complimentary titles each week.

Remarkable Growth Metrics

In 2025, EGS marked a significant achievement with a remarkable 57% increase in spending on third-party titles, culminating in an impressive total of $400 million. It is important to note that this figure excludes revenue from titles that manage their own payment systems, such as EA Sports FC 26, Marvel Rivals, Valorant, and Grand Theft Auto V. Developers of these games retain 100% of the earnings from their sales, a situation that has been pivotal in the ongoing discussions following Epic’s legal battles with Apple concerning payment processing.

Player Engagement Statistics

In terms of gameplay, players spent a staggering 2.78 billion hours engaged with third-party games through the EGS, a notable rise from the 2.68 billion hours logged in 2024. However, the total gameplay hours across all titles saw a decline to 6.65 billion hours, a drop from the previous year’s 7.72 billion hours.

Additionally, the platform achieved a record of 78 million monthly active users (MAU) on PC by December 2025. Overall player spending rose by 6%, reaching a total of $1.16 billion, an increase from $1.09 billion in 2024. The EGS now boasts over 6, 000 titles available for purchase.

Impact of the Free Games Program

The Free Games Program has significantly influenced user engagement, with Epic distributing 100 free games in 2025. Players claimed an astonishing 662 million copies of these titles, valued collectively at $2, 316 in USD. Interestingly, the increase in free game offerings has positively impacted engagement in those titles on Steam. This aligns with recent observations made by indie developers who noted that making their games available for free on EGS boosted their visibility and sales on other platforms.

Expanding User Base

The platform has expanded its user base from 295 million in 2024 to a remarkable 317 million users in 2025. For those interested in further comparisons, the complete statistics from 2024 can be explored in the 2024 report.

Future Prospects for 2026

Looking ahead, Epic has outlined its roadmap for 2026, emphasizing enhancements that gamers have long anticipated. The company plans to undertake a substantial overhaul of the underlying architecture of the Epic Games Store Launcher, targeting improvements that will be rolled out in Summer 2026. These upgrades aim to provide a more intuitive and responsive experience, characterized by increased stability and faster load times.

Further enhancements will include the introduction of community spaces, bolstered social features such as voice chat, and expanded cross-platform libraries connecting PC and mobile games. The EGS will also work toward localized discovery systems through regional storefronts.

“In short: we’re building a fairer, more open marketplace for players and developers, ”the blog post declares.“As we move into 2026, we remain committed to empowering developers and delivering the best possible experience for players, wherever they play.”