An interview with Epic Games Store VP Steven Allison, who says “we have a lot of things” to fix and “the launcher sucks”, on 2026 updates like social features
Steven Allison acknowledges some people will always say “F— Epic", as focus finally shifts to player experience.
Context & Ripple Effects
Epic’s store ambitions have long sat alongside a broader platform strategy: Tim Sweeney previously discussed Epic’s plans for Unreal Engine 6 and a persistent universe, while the company has also faced scrutiny over store-submission design requirements on Apple’s platform.
Allison’s candid assessment puts the near-term emphasis on the basic client experience. That is a necessary foundation for the cross-platform gaming social-system vision Epic has described elsewhere.
First-order effects
- Epic Games Store users can expect the company’s product work to prioritize launcher usability and social features rather than treating the store chiefly as a distribution endpoint.
- Allison’s public acknowledgement raises the accountability bar for Epic: future launcher changes will be judged against a stated need to repair the player experience.
Second-order effects
- A stronger social layer would make Epic’s store more comparable with PC game clients whose value comes from friends, discovery, and ongoing community interaction, not just catalog access.
- Developers distributing through Epic could gain a more useful route to player engagement if the planned social features improve how players find and connect around games.
Third-order effects
- If Epic follows through, PC storefront competition may increasingly turn on social and cross-platform account infrastructure, reinforcing the broader shift toward a cross-platform gaming social system.
- The admission also illustrates that platform challengers need product quality as well as openness arguments to convert ecosystem criticism into durable player adoption.
The trend: Game distribution platforms are evolving from transaction-focused stores into cross-platform social and identity layers, with client usability becoming core competitive infrastructure.