Some interesting industry news for you here. Epic Games have announced a change to the revenue model of the Epic Games Store, as they try to pull in more developers and more gamers to actually purchase things.
I mean that’s good for developers I suppose but I’m still not going to be buying from Epic.
I gave up on the free games at this point. Just too much of a hassle to check regularly with what little free time I have as I ironically post mid day.
I second this. Junkstore is really well integrated, I’ve installed so many forgotten Epic freebies on the Steamdeck because it’s so much easier than going through KDE. I hope the GOG implementation comes soon.
They’re also encumbered with Epic spyware, so despite having collected some of those free games early on, I won’t even run them (or the Epic store app) anymore.
You can use Heroic Games Launcher to download and play Epic games. It doesn’t have any kind of online functionality for the games, plus I block them in my firewall so no calls home. Works great for single player games. Usually end up buying it on Steam if I like the game but it’s great to check stuff out without having to deal with the Epic launcher.
Works on Steam Deck too! Also has GoG and Amazon Games support.
You can use Heroic Games Launcher to download and play Epic games.
I could, but those games contain and execute Epic code. (I checked this by examining the binaries, which is probably against Epic’s terms of service, but I don’t care if they find out and ban me.) This would still be true even if they were launched with Heroic or some other launcher. After the snooping that Epic code has already been caught doing, I don’t trust it to run on my systems.
plus I block them in my firewall so no calls home.
Crack the executables and then block them in your firewall. Though it’s mostly just changes in the directories for where the game and its saves are located that differ from Steam or GOG releases.
Probably the most famous example is when their store app was caught copying Steam files, collecting friends play history, and scanning running processes.
Separately, Epic Online Services (which is embedded into many games from the Epic store and some from other stores) collects more information than many people are comfortable with.
And then there’s the fact that Tencent owns a sizeable chunk of Epic.
Some folks don’t mind these things, but they’re not okay with me, so I don’t allow software from Epic to run on my systems.
It is still Epic Games, therefore I will continue my streak to not buy from them and claim all the free games without playing them.
I gave up on the free games at this point. Just too much of a hassle to check regularly with what little free time I have as I ironically post mid day.
There are games I have as Epic freebies, but just thought it was easier to re-buy on Steam for convenience sake on my Steam Deck.
Junkstore is worth looking into
I second this. Junkstore is really well integrated, I’ve installed so many forgotten Epic freebies on the Steamdeck because it’s so much easier than going through KDE. I hope the GOG implementation comes soon.
They’re also encumbered with Epic spyware, so despite having collected some of those free games early on, I won’t even run them (or the Epic store app) anymore.
You can use Heroic Games Launcher to download and play Epic games. It doesn’t have any kind of online functionality for the games, plus I block them in my firewall so no calls home. Works great for single player games. Usually end up buying it on Steam if I like the game but it’s great to check stuff out without having to deal with the Epic launcher.
Works on Steam Deck too! Also has GoG and Amazon Games support.
I could, but those games contain and execute Epic code. (I checked this by examining the binaries, which is probably against Epic’s terms of service, but I don’t care if they find out and ban me.) This would still be true even if they were launched with Heroic or some other launcher. After the snooping that Epic code has already been caught doing, I don’t trust it to run on my systems.
Wise decision.
Crack the executables and then block them in your firewall. Though it’s mostly just changes in the directories for where the game and its saves are located that differ from Steam or GOG releases.
Can you elaborate on the spyware part? This is new to me
Probably the most famous example is when their store app was caught copying Steam files, collecting friends play history, and scanning running processes.
https://old.reddit.com/r/fuckepic/comments/wakewr/epic_games_spyware_vs_steam_vs_as_comparision_ea/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/developing-epic-games-launcher-appears-to-collect-your-steam-friends-play-history-up2-valve-responds-see-threadmarks.105385/
https://www.pcgamesn.com/epic-launcher-spyware
Separately, Epic Online Services (which is embedded into many games from the Epic store and some from other stores) collects more information than many people are comfortable with.
And then there’s the fact that Tencent owns a sizeable chunk of Epic.
Some folks don’t mind these things, but they’re not okay with me, so I don’t allow software from Epic to run on my systems.
Afger not playing the free games because I hate the launcher I stopped getting them after a couple of months.
Reminder on your phone for Thursday 12pm Eastern, no need to keep checking.
Does it cost epic, when collecting free games?
If I’m not mistaken they pay the devs for installs
But any game you’re not purchasing because you got it free means less money going to a billionaire.