The best online gaming platform for the 21st century
Are you tired of playing your favorite game with your outdated gaming platform? Well, the good news is that gaming platforms have come a long way since the early days of gaming consoles. Today, there are several online gaming platforms available, all promising to offer an immersive experience.
But which one of these is the best? A question that has been chewing our minds since the introduction of online gaming platforms. This article will compare four of the most popular gaming platforms - Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Origin, to help you make an informed decision.
Steam
Steam was launched in 2003 and has, without a doubt, been the king of gaming platforms since then, with over 120 million active users in 2021. Steam has a huge library of games with over 50,000 titles on the platform. It offers features like cloud saving, achievements, and trading cards, making the gaming experience even more enjoyable.
Steam is easy to navigate, and it offers users an easy time creating an account, but Google account holders face an extra process of getting a steam community account. Also, the platform has some strict policies, and violation of these policies may lead to permanent account suspension. Check out Steam customer service portal for more information
Epic Games Store
Epic Games Store entered the gaming platform scene back in 2018, and since then, it has given Steam a run for its money. Epic games Store exclusives, like the Fortnite, gave it an early advantage compared to the rest of the platforms on this list.
Epic games store boasts of a user-friendly interface, with easy account creation, and it's relatively easier to navigate. Additionally, Epic games store offers discounts of up to 75% on all purchases above $15, something that Steam doesn't offer. However, the platform still lacks some features that gamers need, like cloud saving, achievements, and trading cards.
GOG
GOG stands for Good Old Games and was launched in 2008. While it started with mostly retro games, it has recently expanded and now features more modern games too. GOG offers both DRM-free and DRM-protected games, which means you can move your downloaded game files to another device without any configurations or worries about file types.
The platform is user-friendly, but it's not on par with other gaming platforms on this list. However, GOG has a unique feature that offers free games. Yes, you read that right! GOG offers free games regularly, and that's a good enough reason for most gamers to create an account on the platform.
Origin
Origin is an EA-owned gaming platform that was launched in 2011. The platform has over 50 million users worldwide, and it offers features like cloud saving, game library, and easy refunds. Origin's game library is comparatively small, with only 600+ titles on the platform.
Origin is popular with gamers who frequently play EA games because it's the only place where you can download games such as Battlefield, FIFA, and The Sims.
Conclusion
Now that you know a bit about each of the gaming platforms, it’s easier to make an informed decision. Each platform has its sets of features and drawbacks. Steam and Epic Games store are leading the market at the moment, but with other platforms like GOG and Origin always improving, anything can happen.
The final verdict? Well, the choice of an online gaming platform solely depends on the gamers' preferences, and there is no clear winner.
We hope this article has helped you narrow down your choices and make an informed decision. Game on folks!
References
- Steam. “Steam 2021 Numbers.” Small Biz Genius, 2021, https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/steam-statistics/
- Epic Games. “Epic Games Store Official Website.” Epic Games, 2021, https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/
- GOG. “GOG.COM - DRM-Free Gaming.” Good Old Games, 2021, https://www.gog.com/
- Origin. “Origin - PC Video Game Platform.” Electronic Arts, 2021, https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store.