Epic Games Store gave away over 765 million free games as the platform peaked at 194 million users

After two years of stagnation, the Epic Games Store saw an enormous boost in the overall use of its service, according to a 2021 report. As per the statistics, the Epic Games Store had 194 million active users in 2021, up from the 160 million in 2020.

The Epic storefront also gave away a massive number of games, totaling 765 million free titles across its users. This was likely aided by the huge Christmas giveaway, when Epic gave away 15 games during the month of December as a Christmas celebration.

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Epic Games Store continues to grow heading into 2022

Giving away free games on a weekly or daily basis has turned into a pretty smart business strategy for Epic Games. In December 2021, several quality games were given away. Shenmue 3, Loop Hero, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, Prey, Control, and the Tomb Raider trilogy were all part of this giveaway.

The platform gives away free games on a weekly basis, including Daemon x Machina, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair as this week’s offerings. In this report, Epic Games also said that among the 765 million free games given away, 76 of the free games broke peak concurrent records on PC, meaning people were actively playing the free games instead of just shelving them in a collection.

The storefront now also has 917 games available, doubling what it had in 2020, and continues to grow daily. It has also helped that some of the biggest games of 2021 were available exclusively on the Epic Games Store, like Final Fantasy VII REMAKE RETROGRADE and Farcry 6.

Having access to top-tier games exclusively on the Epic storefront has surely helped the platform grow, and it also features some of the biggest free-to-play games like Genshin Impact, Fortnite, and Rocket League. On top of that, several highly-anticipated titles for 2022 will be available on the Epic Games Store.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Forspoken, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will all be on the EGS. While not exclusive, it's another outlet for these games to be purchased at.

Epic promises more changes to the platform in 2022, with more community features, improving their social features, and expanding the Epic Wallet to the rest of the world.