Rank the Launchers/Stores

[ZedClampet]

Rank the game launchers/stores that you use:

My rankings:

1) Steam: From adding non-steam games, to store curation and trading cards, Steam does it all and it does it all well. Um...mostly well. Adding non-Steam games is a huge pain compared to GoG, but at least it's possible. The Steam library and downloads pages are the best in the business. The profile system is top notch. Customer service is easy to find and use. The best part is that shopping is a breeze thanks to the design of the store and their work on curration.

2) GoG: I don't use it much, but when I do, I don't have any problems. The store is easy to use, and adding non-GoG games is as easy as pressing a button. Overall it works very well.

There is a massive drop-off from here.

3) Ubisoft Connect: Honestly, I never have any problems with it. It's user friendly for what little it does. It's basically just, so far as I know, for downloading games and keeping your Ubisoft library ordered and games updated.

4) Xbox App: If I had made this list a couple of days ago, the Xbox app would have been dead last, but the most recent update actually fixed a major download problem that had existed ever since it launched several years ago. App is easy to use and laid out well. I'm still skeptical that all the bugs are fixed, though.

5) Epic Games: Epic has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to break into the PC sales market, and yet, after all this time, the launcher still lacks basic features like a search function for your library. Also, it is by far the slowest launcher out there, particularly if you are in the Unreal Engine section.

There is another massive drop off from here

6) EA: By far the worst launcher/store. It is buggy, the store is so poorly designed it is almost unusable, and they CAN'T EVEN GET THEIR OWN DAMN GAMES IN THERE. Super Mega Baseball 4, which is an EA game, launched over a week ago and it isn't even in the store. Neither are several Grid games. This is a level of incompetence that is almost incomprehensible. How are you going to sell your games if you don't put them in your store? Yes, the answer to that question is Steam, but they have a game pass at EA, and you can't play the games that aren't in the store yet. It's ridiculous.

 

[XoRn]

Well, I don't use many launchers anymore, especially since Ubisoft and EA are back on steam.

1. Steam - I'd love to say everything is hunky dory in Steam land but the client feels like it's become functionally worse over the last couple years. In particular I've had a lot of trouble with interactions with the friends list. I'll hear a steam message notification but not get a chat popup. I may get an alert on the main screen saying I have 1 unread Steam chat but clicking on that doesn't display anything either. I have to manually click though all my online friends to open chats and see which one has a message in it. Still, it's the best of the ones I use.

2. Battle.net - It's always worked fine as a game launcher for me, but frustrating as a store. It once took me 20 minutes to figure out how to redeem a game code with it. That was years ago and nothing in that respect has changed. As a social interface, it's quite nice that most Blizzard games have their in game chats intergrated with your friends list so you don't even have to open an overlay or anything to send a message.

3. Ubisoft Connect (U-Play? I think this was called U-Play when I used it)- Inoffensive? That's all I can think of. Rarely if ever used it.

4. Epic - Somehow feels like Steam trapped in 2008. Functionally worse and harder to navigate in almost every way for me.

5. EA/Origin - Hot garbage. I thought EA's switch to EA Play and return to Steam would mean I no longer had to deal with the Shenanigans that was Origin (The only client I used where it was confusing to figure out what games you even owned), however the thin client is a bogged mess. Every time I launch BF2042 it feels like what should be a short walk between Steam and BF2042 is interrupted by a 20 mile detour. It goes into a fit of multiple launches, winking on and off as if I've offended it by waking it up to do its job. There's roughly a 50/50 shot of the game actually launching. Then sometimes after I've quit it decides to just stay on and ask if I'd like to log in. I haven't even messed with the live client itself, but if the thin client alone instills this much frustration I don't think I ever will, if I can help it.

 

[Zloth]

1. Steam. Sad, given how insanely primitive the forums and screenshots are. They're the only ones even trying, though.

2. GoG. Might actually be 1st for launchers, but the store is vastly more limited than Steam's.

And that's all I use, really. I think I used Ubi Connect for Watch Dogs: Legion, but that's been too long ago. I haven't even messed with Humble in a long time.

 

[Brian Boru]

My comments in the 2021 thread still hold, so I won't repeat here except for brief remarks.

In short, I don't use any of the individual launchers except for occasional installs. I have better uses for my limited cranial RAM than storing where each game is stored, and better things to do with my limited time here on earth than find and launch a launcher to find and launch a game, so I launch play sessions from desktop icons

Playnite didn't want me to connect with my libraries recently, so I've dropped it as a likely option—GOG Galaxy is my only live one now, pending results of research below.

I'm concerned if Galaxy is still being maintained and updated—perhaps @Sarafan might know? It currently shows obsolete Origin with no games, but doesn't show replacement EA Desktop.

Coincidentally I did a launcher search a few days ago and have following two to research in the near future:

Razer Cortex​

GeForce Experience​

If you have an AMD GPU, then:

Radeon Software​

Steam is a real mess, but as you say, it's the best of the lot by a wide margin. I have to conclude the launchers and websites were thrown together by coders, with nary a person in sight who had a clue about organizing info or UI or UX. Reminds me of Amazon's hot mess.

I do love 3 things about Steam tho—the Ignore button, the Notes feature, and the add-on ecosystem around it which adds some great stuff.

Epic … still lacks basic features like a search function for your library

You don't have it top-left?

Ubisoft Connect has an occasional habit of needing 3 Windows 10 UAC prompts before it does its thing—but they all time out and continue with task if left alone, which is ok.

1. GOG Galaxy
2. Playnite
3. Hopefully one of Razer or Geforce
4. BigFishGames—excellent basic launcher
5. Steam
6. Ubi
7. Epic
8. EA
9. Amazon

 

[Zimbaly]

I hate them all equally. Old steam was great, the new one is so horrible. I'd rank epic above it cause they give free games, but it still sucks.

Sadly I'd have to say the best to me is the blizzard one, but they only carry a few games , so it's cleaner and easier to use, but then it's blizzard/activision so into the crap pile with them too!!!

 

[Slasken]

GoG Galaxy is the best launcher. Easy to add other games as well.

If you factor in other things, Steam wins. Steam Workshop is really nice.

My ranking is the same as @ZedClampet . except I don't use Ubisoft's launcher.

 

[Pifanjr]

Steam is unrivaled in the amount of features and is the best store by far. The Steam Workshop integration is also absolutely amazing and has made mods much more accessible.

GOG Galaxy is the best launcher if your games are spread over different platforms because of how easy it is to import all your games.

Epic is pretty bare bones and too slow at times, but it works just fine as a launcher for the free games they give out.

I don't use Battle.net myself, but my wife does. The main problem is that, because she wants to play WoW with friends in the USA, she has an American account, which makes paying for stuff a bother.

Ubisoft and EA should just get rid of their launchers, they add nothing useful.

 

[ZedClampet]

My comments in the 2021 thread still hold, so I won't repeat here except for brief remarks.

In short, I don't use any of the individual launchers except for occasional installs. I have better uses for my limited cranial RAM than storing where each game is stored, and better things to do with my limited time here on earth than find and launch a launcher to find and launch a game, so I launch play sessions from desktop icons

Playnite didn't want me to connect with my libraries recently, so I've dropped it as a likely option—GOG Galaxy is my only live one now, pending results of research below.

I'm concerned if Galaxy is still being maintained and updated—perhaps @Sarafan might know? It currently shows obsolete Origin with no games, but doesn't show replacement EA Desktop.

Coincidentally I did a launcher search a few days ago and have following two to research in the near future:

Razer Cortex​

GeForce Experience​

If you have an AMD GPU, then:

Radeon Software​

Steam is a real mess, but as you say, it's the best of the lot by a wide margin. I have to conclude the launchers and websites were thrown together by coders, with nary a person in sight who had a clue about organizing info or UI or UX. Reminds me of Amazon's hot mess.

I do love 3 things about Steam tho—the Ignore button, the Notes feature, and the add-on ecosystem around it which adds some great stuff.


You don't have it top-left?

Ubisoft Connect has an occasional habit of needing 3 Windows 10 UAC prompts before it does its thing—but they all time out and continue with task if left alone, which is ok.

1. GOG Galaxy
2. Playnite
3. Hopefully one of Razer or Geforce
4. BigFishGames—excellent basic launcher
5. Steam
6. Ubi
7. Epic
8. EA
9. Amazon

Unless I'm just missing it, the only search feature I see in Epic is for the store, not the library, even if you are on the library page, it searches the store instead.

Last time I used GoG it didn't have the robust library tools that Steam has. I haven't tried Playnite. Geforce, again, is barebones on the library front. It's just a list of games.

I'm curious as to what makes Steam a real mess. It is beautifully organized and so easy to use. I think you just don't use it enough to get familiar with it.

 

[Pifanjr]

Unless I'm just missing it, the only search feature I see in Epic is for the store, not the library, even if you are on the library page, it searches the store instead.

I think the search bar is on the right, above the button to filter for installed games.

I know it exists, but I also know I consistently mess up and accidentally use the store search bar.

 

[ZedClampet]

I think the search bar is on the right, above the button to filter for installed games.

I know it exists, but I also know I consistently mess up and accidentally use the store search bar.

Ah, the page isn't high contrast, so I probably just missed it with my poor vision.

 

[mainer]

I've got 4 game launcher/stores installed, though I really only use 2 of them on a regular basis. But my ranking, in order of relevance to myself:

1- Steam. I purchase and play the majority of my games there, and it has advanced over the years beyond just being a storefront or game launcher into a worldwide community of gamers as well as an information center on current and future games. Users are allowed to post reviews (some of which are very good & in-depth), game guides, screenshots, and videos via the Community Hub.

Users can also purchase Early Access games (which are clearly marked as such), have access to mods (for some games) from the Steam Workshop, can mod their games from outside sources (like the Nexus) and have access to game forums (labeled "discussions") for each game (even the not yet released games). My individual game pages have all relevant links and update information, and are easy to manuver.

A note on Steam Discussions: From my experience they can be a hit or miss feature depending upon the game involved. Some are populated with "trollish" type behavior from individuals who want nothing more than to be antagonistic, bashing others who don't agree with them. and making derogatory statements towards the game or it's developer. But if you're able to ignore those types of juvenile posts, there's always a good core of individuals who are willing to help.

Some features could be better, but at this point, Steam is light years ahead of any other game launcher/store.

2-GOG: I love GOG because I love playing older games, and GOG is the place to buy/install many older games. Many of those games have essential mods already installed. Such as Fallout New Vegas already having the 4GB patch installed, and The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall Unity version. If you want to play an old game and want it to run buy it and play it on GOG.

I don't see Steam & GOG as competitors, but rather complementary to each other. I don't use many of the other features of GOG outside of playing a game, so I can't comment on how they compare, but I don't think it really matters.

To a much, much lesser extent:

3- Battlenet: I have this installed for one reason only: to play Diablo 2 Resurrected. I love that ARPG, and to play it I'm required to have Battlenet installed. I don't care about any of their other games, so I know nothing about any of it's features.

Way down at the bottom of the smelly septic system of my PC:

4-Origin, aka EA App, aka WTF: I hate it, and the only reason I have it installed is that I have to have it running to play the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games on Steam. Thank the gaming gods that EA finally allowed their games to be available on Steam. I re-purchased all the ME and DA games on sale when they became available on Steam, and to me it was worth the added expense to shed having to deal with EA. Though I still do, as the app is still required.

 

[Sarafan]

I'm concerned if Galaxy is still being maintained and updated—perhaps @Sarafan might know? It currently shows obsolete Origin with no games, but doesn't show replacement EA Desktop.

It's still regularly updated. The most recent update added (among other things) a feature that allows the client to suggest the next games that you may want to play. It's presented in the form of cards that you can reveal by clicking on them. It would be a nice thing if only the integration plugins were working properly. Those maintained by GOG staff are functioning without issues, but you can't say the same about community ones. Steam plugin doesn't work anymore, Ubisoft also has problems and no one provided an EA App module after Origin was dropped. This makes the whole client less functional than it was on the release date unfortunately.

As for ranking of the launchers, it's not an easy way and it might be something different from ranking of stores. GOG is DRM free, so it's by far the best store, but the quality of Galaxy client experience has dropped a lot in the past months. I'll rank only the launchers though:

1. Steam - probably a year or two ago I would put GOG Galaxy in the first place mainly due to its integration of other platforms. But now, since a lot of the integrations stopped working properly, it's just another standard launcher. Steam on the other hand received an update yesterday that refreshed the look of the client and introduced a rebuilt in-game overlay. Now you can even write your own notes and pin them, so they're still visible on the screen after you turn the overlay off. The client also works fast and there's barely any problem with it.

2. GOG Galaxy - it's still on the second place. It performs well with its basic functionality: runs the games, synchronizes cloud saves and provides a satisfying achievement unlock effect. Also the play time counter is better than on Steam, because it features standard minutes instead of decimals. It could work a little faster, but has nice game graphics visible when you view the list of games in your library. It unofficially dropped its main advantage though - the unification of all clients.

3. Battle.net - I like the Blizzard launcher. It has a nice layout and there are basically no bugs. Also it's quite fast and graphically attractive. The biggest downsides are the lack of play time tracking and low number of games in library. It does a very good thing in launching the games published by Activision Blizzard though.

4. Playnite - right now it's probably the best client that integrates all of the platforms. There are some bugs and it has one big problem. In every case you need two launchers to run a game with it (Playnite + Steam or some other client). I used it for some time, but the requirement to launch one additional client made me drop it. It's still the best thing if you want to keep your whole collection in one place.

5. Epic Games Launcher - I don't like this thing. It's heavy and unattractive. I bought literally two games by my own on this platform, but I have quite a big library because of games that the company gave for free. Even despite already owning them, I must hold myself back not to buy them on other digital distribution platforms.

6. Ubisoft Connect - I use this client only because I have to. It doesn't look good but at least provides the basic functions quite properly. But that's all. If there would be a real alternative for Ubisoft Connect, I would use it.

7. EA App - worse than Origin, which is a big achievement. It looks like a client made from some app template and I've encountered a few bugs despite using it quite rarely, but... there's no alternative unfortunately...

 

[Alm]

Functionality and range of games are my main concerns.

1. Steam - has both

2. Battle.net - the client I use most but has less games.

3. Epic - seems to work OK and gives free games, though I don't use it much.

4. Ubi - Works OK but I don't use it anymore as a lot of the games I'm interested in are also on Steam.

5. EA & GoG - had iffy functionality from both so used sparingly.

 

[Brian Boru]

It would be a nice thing if only the integration plugins were working properly

Thanks for your post, very informative

By integrations, do you mean things like achievements, friends, play time etc etc—or do you mean Galaxy doesn't even import the list of games properly?

As Zed surmised, I use launchers very little, only for installs. My big need is to answer the Q "Do I already own this game?" So the fullest list of games I own from the widest number of retailers is my thing.

I should probably get a spreadsheet going—after one big setup, it would be easy to maintain since I buy very few games these days. Then I won't be dependent on the vagaries of launchers anymore

 

[Zloth]

I'm still staggering from the shock of seeing Death Stranding in Brian's library. 😮😲

 

[Brian Boru]

seeing Death Stranding in Brian's library

Well it has been given away free twice now by Epic. I thought it was still a bit overpriced, but what the heck…

 

[JarlBSoD]

1. GoG. nuff said

 

[Sarafan]

By integrations, do you mean things like achievements, friends, play time etc etc—or do you mean Galaxy doesn't even import the list of games properly?

By integrations with other platforms I mean plugins that allow you to connect accounts from other launchers. It's something like Playnite. You add your Steam account and have access to game library from Steam on GOG Galaxy. Achievements, friends and play time work without problems on GOG Galaxy if we're talking about games bought on GOG.

 

[Brian Boru]

have access to game library

Right, that's my main use of Galaxy & Playnite—import and update my libraries from the other retailers. Good to hear that's still working, I'm not concerned about the additional features.

 

[Pifanjr]

Right, that's my main use of Galaxy & Playnite—import and update my libraries from the other retailers. Good to hear that's still working, I'm not concerned about the additional features.

I believe he said it isn't working right now.

 

[Rustledjimm]

I have used Steam far more than the others and it indeed tops my list.

I will say, the recent UI update on steam has to be one of the best I've seen. Often with UI updates there are changes I either hate or really need time to adjust to. The Steam update it was almost seamless, I knew where everything was intuitively. It looked great compared to before. Steam tops my list for usability and all it's optional extras.

I do wish the forums were less toxic though, steam forums are a hive of scum and villainy.


Next probably comes GOG and Epic, both are fine. I like GOGs options, I think they took some inspiration from Steam but with their own twist. They also work hard to make sure old games are still playable, admittedly their specialisation but it is one they seem to do well.

Epic has come some way from the bare-bones when it launched but still has far to go before it can reach Steam's level. I admit I like the free weekly games, though most I am not interested in or already own.

Ubisoft... I cannot like. I'm not sure if it's something I am doing wrong but it seems like it constantly needs updating or the games need updating. If I thought Steam needed updates a bit too often I was blown away by Ubisoft's demand for updates.

I will not deign to mention EA and Origin.

EDIT: GOG is better than EPIC and not on the same level I decided. They have their specialisation that they do very well while EPIC is just a generic store that is not as good as Steam.

 

[Sarafan]

Right, that's my main use of Galaxy & Playnite—import and update my libraries from the other retailers. Good to hear that's still working, I'm not concerned about the additional features.

As Pifanjr said, there's a major problem with Galaxy integrations. The official ones (Epic and Xbox) are working flawlessly, but not the community ones. Steam integration doesn't work at all (you can download and install manually an experimental version that's supposed to work...), Ubisoft Connect plugin crashes and requires manual file editing to fix this, EA App plugin isn't available (there's only an outdated Origin plugin). It's hard for me to write this, but at this moment Playnite is the way to go when it comes to unifying other clients...

 

[McStabStab]

1st place Steam
2nd place everybody else

Steam is really the only launcher I consider head and shoulders above the competition. After Steam, GoG, Epic, Ubi, Battlenet, etc. nothing holds a candle to it. The controller support, Steam Link through my Smart TV, the ability to manage your game libraries and wishlists. It's just better.

 

[mainer]

Concerning the available game store/launchers: For those of you that use Epic, how often do you think you'd use it as a store/launcher if they didn't constantly give away free games? It seems like that is its biggest draw, but I've never used it, so I really don't know.

Epic gives away a lot of really great games, and I don't begrudge anyone for grabbing them, I'm always looking for freebies and discounts. I don't have anything against Epic (though I used to when it first launched), I just prefer to have all my games consolidated into one or two launchers. My initial dislike of them stemmed from the way they had some games as "Epic Exclusives" for a year, but that seems to have faded, as I haven't seen much about that feature recently.

 

[Alm]

I would use it if Steam wasn't a thing. It hasn't got as many features as Steam but I've never had any issues with it, performance wise. But Steam is better.