Summary
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Epic’s 2026 roadmap adds Steam-like features: written reviews, profiles, avatars.
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Hardware and driver updates include universal driver support and specification benchmarking.
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Community and commerce features include third-party forums, patch notes, cross-region giveaways, and publisher coupons.
Steam is one of those rare examples of a service outperforming its competition simply by doing nothing and taking advantage of its existing good faith. We’ve seen other digital stores rise to take it on, but none have truly challenged Steam’s throne. However, the one that is definitely the closest to Valve’s offerings is the Epic Games Store.
While fans of Epic Games’ launcher have been enjoying free games for a while now, there are still some features that the store doesn’t have that Steam has had for years. Luckily, a roadmap for the Epic Games Store has appeared online and it looks like it’s being revamped to add things Steam users have taken for granted.
Epic Games Store gets a roadmap for 2026
Includes written reviews. yes, really
Beyond the Epic Games Subreddit for PCUser ImAnthlon shared some images of a presentation that Epic Games gave to show what it is doing to renew its game store. They point out that, in the second image, there is a new section that tells you if the game has controller support. It will also tell you which controllers it works well with, such as a PlayStation or Xbox controller. There’s even a “Will my computer play this?” section that estimates what your PC can handle and at what graphical level.
ImAnthlon also reports that the following features are coming to the Epic Games Store:
Profiles and avatars
Written reviews
Universal controller support
Spec benchmarking (using hardware and the game spec sheet?)
Third party communities (forums??)
Third Party Patch Notes
Gifts between regions
Publisher-Supported Coupons
If you’re a big Steam fan, you might be surprised to know that written reviews are a promising feature for the Epic Games store. Indeed, users can rate games on the platform, but currently they cannot say because They rated them that way. Additionally, the ability to view patch notes for third-party titles seems like another feature that Steam users have enjoyed for decades.
