Epic Games Builds its own Steam

Epic Games, the company that launched the free, multi-user game “Fortnite,” wants to take on Apple and Google with a new “Epic Games Store.” Since it’s launch in September of 2017, Fortnite has skyrocketed in popularity to become an international household name. Epic Games says that more than 200 million accounts have been registered in Fortnite across the many platforms it can be played on, and currently more than 80 million people are playing monthly.

If you’re one of the millions of people playing the game on PC, Mac, or Android, you’re already using your Epic Games account with the Epic Games launcher — software created by Epic Games to manage your account and game library. It’s a service that’s very similar to Apple’s App Store, or Google Play, or Valve’s Steam. The software keeps games updated, lets you to communicate with friends, and tracks your progress, purchases, and more.

With the new Epic Games Store, the company “will launch with a hand-curated set of games on PC and Mac, then it will open up more broadly to other games and to Android and other open platforms throughout 2019,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a blog post last week. The store arrived on Thursday night during the game industry’s annual awards show, The Game Awards, with several exclusive games and plans for more in the future.

Make no mistake: This is a direct shot at Apple, Google, and — most directly — video game industry heavyweight Steam.

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