Recently, former Valve writer Chet Faliszek drew attention to the updated Epic Games Store launcher. He decided to share his thoughts on EGS and compared the approaches of the EGS and Steam teams to service development.
Faliszek explained that Gabe Newell views Steam not just as a "store," but as a kind of MMO. For example, there's a system with "collectible cards" — these virtual cards can drop from certain games or during a major seasonal sale if a certain amount is spent.
However, developers have limited the number of cards a user can get from a game. To collect a full set and create a badge for their profile, they will either have to craft a set with random cards through the gem system, or try to trade or buy them on the Steam marketplace.
Creating these badges brings rewards (profile backgrounds, emoticons), as well as experience like in an MMO game, which allows you to level up your profile. Leveling up expands profile customization options, increases the friend list limit, and raises the player's profile in the lists of those who have added them as friends.
Also, on Steam, players can write a free-form game review, publish a guide, screenshots, videos, or open a forum thread. This approach by Valve has obvious problems — a moderation system needs to be set up to maintain order in the community.
However, according to Chet Faliszek, such features allow users to express themselves and leave their mark within the Steam platform. And the competitor's store, Epic Games Store, does not offer similar social functions that attract users to Valve's service.