Epic Games Store’s holiday giveaway streak delivered a steady stream of free titles, and one of the standouts was Blood West, a supernatural stealth shooter from New Blood Interactive. But in a twist that says a lot about today’s PC gaming marketplace, the promotion appears to have fueled a surge of sales on Steam rather than converting large numbers of players into long-term Epic Games Store users.
New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry shared a sales chart on social media showing a sharp jump in Steam purchases for Blood West around the period when the game was available for free on Epic’s launcher. The free offer ran for 24 hours starting December 20, and while the graph’s biggest spike appears a few days afterward, Oshry suggested the connection was hard to ignore. In his view, the result was roughly a 200% sales increase on Steam that coincided with the Epic free-game exposure.
Oshry’s takeaway was blunt: giving the game away on Epic turned out to be strong advertising for Steam. He also noted that the developers were compensated for participating in the giveaway, which is a key part of why publishers agree to these promotions. Even when a free release doesn’t translate into permanent platform loyalty, it can still deliver value through guaranteed payments and broader visibility.
So why didn’t “free” automatically pull more players into Epic’s ecosystem?
Epic Games Store has undeniably grown, in part because it continually rotates free games that encourage players to install the launcher and build a library at no cost. Still, Steam remains the default home for a massive share of PC gamers and continues to hit new records, recently passing 42 million users. A major reason comes down to features that make Steam feel less like a storefront and more like a hub.
Steam’s community tools are deeply embedded into how many players discover and stick with games. Game-specific forums often serve as the first stop for troubleshooting, strategies, and discussion. User ratings and reviews can heavily influence what people buy next, especially during major sales. Steam Workshop support—where it exists—keeps games alive longer through mods and custom content that refresh the experience. Epic’s platform, by comparison, has fewer of these built-in community magnets, which can make it harder to hold onto users once the freebie is claimed.
Blood West itself is the kind of distinctive shooter that many players are happy to try when there’s no financial risk. But once the curiosity is satisfied, plenty of people prefer returning to Steam, where their main library, friend lists, community features, and habits already live. Convenience matters, and Steam’s “everything in one place” advantage is difficult to overcome.
Pricing likely played a role as well. During the holiday window, Blood West was discounted, dropping from $24.99 to $9.99. For many players, that price can feel like a small trade-off to own the game on the platform they use most—especially if it means keeping achievements, playtime tracking, community discussions, and the rest of Steam’s ecosystem tied to the purchase.
The bigger picture is interesting for developers and publishers watching the platform wars: an Epic Games Store free game promotion can act less like a conversion tool and more like a giant billboard. Even if players redeem the free copy on Epic, the attention can spark a wave of Steam purchases from fans who prefer Valve’s platform for daily use. In Blood West’s case, the giveaway didn’t just put the game in more hands—it seemingly pushed many of those hands right back to Steam to buy it there anyway.
