Epic Games Store Players Now Preload Games
Epic Games Store finally added option for preloading games, which will allow players to download the game before it makes official launch.
Big Feature for Epic Games Store
Data from 2024 shows the Epic Games Store is nearing 300 million users. Despite the platform’s growth, many have criticized it for lacking standard features like preloading and other quality-of-life options that fans have long requested. Now, seven years after its launch, the Epic Games Store seems to be starting to add some of those features.
In a brief community post, the Epic Games Store announced that developers can now enable preloading for games with a pre-purchase period on Windows. This allows players to download a game up to five days before its official launch. According to the storefront, games with preload support will feature a clear badge or icon, and the process will be as simple as pressing a dedicated button on the game’s store page. Unfortunately, the option seems to be Windows-exclusive for now and isn’t available on the macOS version of the Epic Games Store, meaning Apple users will still miss out on the preload feature.
It’s worth noting that Steam, the Epic Games Store’s main competitor, has offered this feature almost since its launch, making it a staple for day-one digital releases. Still, Epic Games Store users seem happy to finally jump into new releases on day one without falling behind other players due to download times. Fans should note that downloading a game in advance requires preordering the title. Users will also need to update the launcher to the latest version to take advantage of preloading.
