Epic Games has announced a range of additional features coming to Epic Games Store soon. If you use the platform, then you'll be happy to know the social aspect of the service is receiving an overhaul.

Epic Games Store Gets a Lick of Paint

In an EpicGames.com news post, the Fortnite creator has confirmed a heap of additions to the store, mainly based around social interaction.

So, after a positive 2020 for Epic Games (lawsuits aside) what does this overhaul involve? Epic Games says:

A major priority continues to be including more features that connect you to your friends and to the games you love. That involves improving existing features like Wishlists, adding Achievements, and rehauling the Social Panel!

This all sounds pretty promising, especially as Epic Games Store is attempting to bring itself more in line with the likes of Steam, which has many social functions, including the newly released Remote Play Together feature.

In case you are wondering, we don't currently have a release date for all the extra features. What we do know is they'll all be available within 2021, with some having definite launch dates.

What New Epic Games Store Features Are Coming Soon?

Let's deal with the features coming in March, first. Epic says:

To make sure that we’re creating a seamless social experience for our users, we are constantly building, improving, and iterating on existing features. We’re revamping our Social Panel to improve functionality across the board...

So, what changes will you see?

First, we have Player Cards. These are much like the profile cards on any other system; they allow you to see if your friend is online, manage your friendship (in case you fall out over a Fortnite loot crate... but the less said about Fortnite loot crates, the better), and see mutual friends.

According to the Epic Games news post, Player Cards is a feature that Epic is keen to push, and will be providing added functionality at a later date, including the ability to customize your card and start party chats.

Next you have an improved social panel search function. Epic describes this update:

We’ve improved the search query and the results will now feature mutual friend count, the ability to search across platforms, and better matching overall. If you have a pending game invite, you’ll be able to click “Join” and the game will launch and auto-join your friend.

Other imminent improvements include the ability to minimize the social panel, so it is still visible when browsing the epic games store, and a Do Not Disturb function. It is also ditching Whispers (AKA private messaging) for the time being.

What Social Features Are Coming to Epic Games Store Later?

Well, it is more like one big feature. Here's what Epic Games says about it:

We want to transform the Epic Games Store into a place where you can connect with your friends across platforms, effortlessly jump into parties with voice chat, and play games together without missing a beat. There are a lot of exciting features to come but today we want to share with you an early look at the Party System.

So, get ready to party up on the Epic Games Store!

Features of the Party System will include a Party Window, so you can access your party instantly via a floating pane, whether in game—via a simplified party window—or just browsing the store.

You can drop in and out of the party, too, as there will be no "party owner" as it were. This means if you create a party then leave it, your friends can all still stay in the party and you can even come back to it later.

Are You an Epic Games Store Customer?

If so, you're probably quite excited by this news. Epic Games is listening to its fanbase and offering services you'll find on other platforms.

This can only be a good move for Epic, as it brings the Games Store more in line with other platforms such as Steam. Whether it matches performance is another matter, but at least this is a step in the right direction for Epic Games.