After 7 years, Epic Games Store has finally added another needed feature that Steam has had for a long time

Epic Games Store just got a new feature that makes it easier to pre-download games.

Tim Sweeney's company's store has been on the market for almost 7 years, but let's face it: many players still associate it mainly as "that platform with free games" rather than a serious competitor to Steam. It's partly because of what EGS can do—or more like what it can't do—compared to the ever-evolving Valve store.

Nevertheless, Epic Games is also making efforts to introduce the most important missing features. One of them has just been released on this platform (via PC Gamer): from now on, EGS users finally have access to the preload, which is the option to download game files before their release (provided the publisher allows this option).

A small step for EGS and a lot of changes on Steam

It might be a small thing compared to the store's renovation and all the advanced features on Steam. Nevertheless, preload can be a lifesaver for a lot of players these days, especially when even smaller games can need you to download like 10 or 20 gigs of data. With a weaker internet connection, this means that without the files being made available in advance, the buyer may only be able to play the launching title a few days after its release.

It's no surprise, then, that the addition of preload pleases players—although it equally amuses internet users. A platform that was created to compete with Steam and is owned by a wealthy company took over five years to add such a basic feature.

Epic Games Store finally lets you download game files before release. Source: Epic Games.

Meanwhile, as we have already mentioned, Valve has introduced many more improvements during this time. As a result, we could say that when it comes to features, the gap between Steam and the Epic Games Store hasn't just stayed the same—it’s actually gotten bigger. Steam has pulled way ahead of its would-be competitor.

Nevertheless, it's encouraging that the Epic Games Store is making even small steps towards catching up with Steam. Even if it's far too little to stop EGS from being so "clunky" that even Tim Sweeney himself doesn't hold back his criticism.

• digital distribution
• pre-load
• Epic Games Store