[GameSpot] - Epic Games Store Users Claimed Almost 700 Million Free Games In 2022

[343iBot]

The Epic Games Store is looking back at 2022, a year that saw the platform post some big numbers. While last year saw over 230 million Epic Games Store PC users--an increase of 36 million compared to 2021--a monthly active users peak of 68 million, and 626 new PC titles added to the store in 2022, what's really impressive are the number of free games that were claimed, which Epic offers on a weekly basis.

Throughout 2022, 99 free games worth $2,240 USD were offered through EGS, and 70 of those games broke their peak concurrent user records on PC. In total, over 700 million free games were claimed by players. Epic has also confirmed that the weekly Free Games Program will continue in 2023, and currently, you can claim Call of the Sea as this week's freebie. To see what else Epic has to offer with this promotion, you can check out GameSpot's regularly updated feature on the free games available through Epic every week.

On the business side of EGS, players spent $355 million on third-party applications--up 18% year-over-year-- and on Epic's own games players spent $820 million, which was down 2% from 2021.

As for games, the top titles on the store included mostly free-to-play games such as Genshin Impact, Rocket League, and Fortnite, with Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Grand Theft Auto V being the sole paid-for game on the top-tier list. A little further down, the list diversified with games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Red Dead Redemption 2, Sifu, Dying Light 2, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Looking ahead, Epic has some big plans for its storefront throughout 2023. The company has officially rolled out self-publishing tools, which were previously being tested in beta, and it expects to see "exponential" growth in its games catalog. After releasing several quality-of-life Epic Games Store updates in 2022 such as cross-play tools for PC, player ratings, and improved search functions, Epic will focus on launcher performance improvements, third-party subscription support, and content hubs to allow publishers to share more details on their titles with their communities.

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