Epic Games has been working on enhancing its Epic Games Store (EGS) to better compete with Steam, and the upcoming Epic Games Launcher version 2 will bring significant performance improvements to the desktop application. According to the latest rumors, EGS Launcher v2 will be 5 to 6.5 times faster than the current launcher. This aims to attract more users with a substantial redesign of the storefront, both architecturally and visually. It should open about five times faster on a cold start, while returning from the system tray to the library could be roughly 6.5 times quicker on average. For players who have grown accustomed to waiting on menus and slow page loads, this may be the most meaningful change.

Epic also seems to be redefining what the store aims to represent, as engaging players is one of the best ways to keep them returning to the platform. The new storefront layout is built around a more personalized home page, with quick-access categories and a scrollable hero section designed to help players find relevant games faster. Product pages are also being reworked to do more than just display a title, price, and rating. Epic wants them to highlight story elements, community activity, and even a player's own progression where relevant. With this, EGS hopes to counter earlier claims by two former Epic Games employees that the EGS saw only an initial spike in active users during free game promotions, with gamers eventually returning to Steam.