Epic Games has introduced a gifting feature to its digital storefront, allowing users to send games directly to friends on their platform.
New Gifting Feature Details
Users can now purchase games as gifts for friends on their Epic friends list using Epic's payment system. Participants in this system earn Epic Rewards, offering between 5% and 20% back on purchases. However, free games, pre-purchase offers, subscriptions, and in-game currency are excluded from the gifting option.
A recipient has 14 days to claim a gift, a shorter window compared to Steam's 30 days.
Comparison with Steam
The new feature comes seven years after the launch of the Epic Games Store, contrasting with Steam's gifting option, which debuted 18 years ago. This addition marks a step towards narrowing the functionality gap between Epic and Steam in digital game distribution.
Epic continues to refine its store offerings, aiming to remain competitive against industry leader Steam.
