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The original was posted on /r/epicgamespc by /u/dribbleondo on 2025-01-25 05:37:13+00:00.

I want to preface this by saying that I think Epic moving in to the mobile market is both logical and an actively pro-consumer thing for them to do. However, this took way too long for the store to be populated with third party titles, and the app has some other issues too, which I’ll get to in the cons section. While licensing apps to put on the store and getting people to agree takes time, this could’ve been avoided, had Epic done these deals in advance (the EU ratifying the iOS marketplace has gone on for at least a year, so it’s not like they didn’t have time).

Anyway, Pros and Cons:

Pro’s:

• The UI is basically perfect design-wise. The layout is pretty much the same as it was on EGS, only the title cards, tiles and other UI gubbins are smaller to accommodate for smaller screens and mobile devices. I am quite unsure why people hate on Epic’s UI when it’s probably the most suitable for mobile devices that I’ve seen when it comes to newcomers to the mobile store front market – Have a look for yourself!:

From Left to Right: Store Page, Scrolling down, Unpurchased Game, Settings.

• Some games ARE Cheaper than on Google Play (and one that isn’t). From my testing at 4:48am, the great majority of the games are either the exact same price as those on Google Play (Samorost 2 and 3, Out There: Omega Edition), Cheaper (There is no game: WD is 20p cheaper on EGS than Google Play, while Hidden Folks is 52p cheaper on EGS), though oddly, one game is significantly more expensive on EGS than Google Play (Evoland 2; £1.50 on Google Play; £5.59 on EGS). As a matter of record, two games have upfront costs compared to their Google Play counterparts which allow you purchase the full game with an in-app purchase (Shapez and Pilgrims; £5.59 and £1.59 respectively).
• Free Games are on Mobile! I’m glad this is continuing on from EGS, as it incentivises newcomers to at least install the app and play the game. I recall them even saying that free games was a very effective tactic for getting people to use EGS.
• Same performance as Google Play: As in the title; the entire app store, barren as it is, was quick to respond to inputs, had no lag, and was not slow in the slightest (in stark contrast to their store, which even now is still a little juddery when compared to Steam)

Cons:

• No Search Bar: By the looks of things, the only games on the store are the ones on the front page, which is presumably why they haven’t added it yet. That said, this is quite stupid omission, even if every game can be seen on one page (albeit requiring some scrolling). That also means no sorting via genre, price etc.
• No Library: Okay, controversial opinion; this is less of an issue than it is on PC; your desktop is not used in the same way as your home screen on your phone is, so library management isn’t strictly needed right now. HOWEVER, it should still be added, even on this soft-launch, as it makes for great peace of mind for the end-user to have a dedicated page to see the games they’ve downloaded or purchased; the download bar or labelling your games as “play now” and being on the game page just isn’t going to cut it. There needs to be some user management.
• No Wishlist: Personally, I never really used this feature much on Google Play, but it is something that needs to be added in the future. Again, this might just be like the search bar situation, where the store front isn’t barge enough to justify adding it yet.
• No Reviews, or even Review Scores: Continuing the trend from EGS of not having reviews, this app store doesn’t either. It doesn’t have the polled ratings reviews. Admittedly, this does require aggregated data from installs and purchases, but it’s noticeable that the feature isn’t even listed yet.
• You cannot see your achievements/ No Profile Support: You’re not able to see your own achievements unless you’re in-game as there’s no direct link to your profile page to see such information. There’s also no information regarding whether the game even has achievements or not (something the EGS desktop store does let you see, as it has tags for it). And… Oh yeah, social profiles are still not a thing. Womp, womp.

Neutral Notes:

• There are two games that aren’t on Google Play but are on EGS; Figment and Office Fight specifically. This might be an exclusivity deal, or Epic asked them to be on the store just to fill out the games. There’s no way to tell right now other than the developers saying (and if they do, let me know!)
• There’s some ambiguity when it comes to two of Epic’s features on the desktop client working when used on mobile; I assume that both Achievements and the Epic Rewards system (which is also back, yay!), are not separated between versions of the same store fronts and are pooled into one homogenous thing.

Final notes:

The Epic Store on Mobile has always been a bit of an oddity; it launched to capitalise on the EU’s DMA going through, with no regard to store front functionality, or having games that weren’t your own. This was a bad move in my opinion; the mobile app was rushed out to meet that deadline, to the point that Netflix had a better app selection than you – and arguably, a better store, as Netflix does let you search for games on both desktop and mobile despite not having that many; and that was leveraging Google Play!

Much of that sentiment is still true here. It is not finished, and feels as such. While I’m all for multiple store fronts and EGS’s general philosophies of breaking up the existing desktop and mobile monopolies, your speed is actively hampering your progress. Epic, you are acting opportunistically, not out of the betterment of everyone who uses your service, and that attitude needs to change, sooner rather than later. Or, to put it another way:

Large meaningful app and store front updates matter more than small ones that capitalise on the news.

Please consider this constructive criticism, and pass it on to the relevant people internally. If you have any questions; I’m free all week =)