Whenever a game is given away for free on the Epic Games Store, concurrent players of that game's Steam version increase by an average of 40%, according to Epic itself.
This is a standout figure in Epic's 2025 year-in-review report, which reflects on the results and direction of its still-developing storefront. You might think it signals that a chunk of people would rather pay for a game on Steam than get it for free on Epic, and for some people, I'm sure that's true – but there is more to the math.
"In 2025, players claimed 662 million titles through the program," the report reads. "Over 77% of games set an all-time peak CCU record on the Store during the week of their free offer. This delivered a measurable halo effect across the broader PC ecosystem, including a 40% lift in Steam CCU while the title was free on the Epic Games Store."
Epic Games Store VP and GM Steve Allison, speaking with GamesRadar+ ahead of the report's release, adds some context to this number. Asked what this data tells us and whether it's good news for Epic, Allison maintains "it's a good thing." (He also clarifies that the 40% figure refers to average Steam CCU lift.)
"When you look at that, if you look at the coverage that comes with it, tons of coverage happens on the free games," he says. "It's a pretty significant amount of coverage. It means there's a lot of conversation happening around those games at the same time. Those games may be being purchased, it may just be people going to their library, maybe they have it in their library and hadn't played it before.
"I don't have any goals of hoarding all the positive outcomes," he concludes. "If we do a free game offer and it hits record CCU here and Steam, more players have it in their library, some players buy it. I think it's a positive halo effect for everybody. I don't think it's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing."
