How to Use the New Social Panel Features on the Epic Games Store

Epic Games has taken the PC gaming world by storm with their weekly free games and triple-A exclusives, but Epic Games isn't ready to stop innovating just yet.

Steam has been the go-to gaming platform for PC gamers for years now. On Steam, you can chat with friends and buy games all in one place. However, Steam's social features are outdated, clunky, and don't allow for cross-platform communication.

Epic Games knows players are always looking for new ways to chat with their friends while in-game. That's why the brand is completely revamping the social components of the Epic Games launcher in 2021.

What Is the Epic Games Store Social Panel?

The Epic Games social panel is a feature of the Epic Games store where players can connect with their friends during gameplay or while browsing the store.

To open the social panel in-game, press Shift + F3 simultaneously. From here, you check your friends' online status, message them, or send them a game invite. In the future, Epic Games will add achievements, party chats, and group chats. All of this will be accessible through the social panel.

Overview of the New Social Panel Features

With the new Epic Games Social Update, users can enable Do Not Disturb mode, connect with other players through mutual friends, and even create a Wishlist. These features make connecting with and playing with friends easier on the Epic Games platform.

However, features such as a party chat haven't made their way onto the platform just yet. Epic Games has announced a party chat system, a function that allows users to voice chat with each other outside of game and will make its way to users before the end of 2021.

With introducing new social features and implementing a new Indie Storefront, the Epic Games Store is becoming a serious competitor to Steam.

Do Not Disturb mode is a standard feature in many PC games, and it has finally made its way to the Epic Games launcher.

Do Not Disturb mode prevents users from receiving notifications from friends and other players while it's activated. Users will still receive messages and invites in Do Not Disturb mode, but they won't come with notifications.

To access Do Not Disturb mode, click on your friend list at the top right of the launcher and click on the bell icon. You will receive a message revealing if you turned Do Not Disturb mode on or off.

Epic Games' new compact friend list is active by default and you can find it at the top right of the Epic Games client. This compact friend list also comes with a more accurate search feature, making finding friends easier.

Player Cards is another additional feature that Epic shipped with the Social Update. Player Cards allow you to see your friends connected accounts and a list of their mutual friends.

To view your friends' player Cards, open the store and select the friend icon at the top right corner of your client. This opens the new compact friend list, and from here, you can click on a player to see their Player Card. Doing this will let you see your friends' connected account and their online status.

To access your Wishlist, click on the Wishlist button at the top right of the Epic Games client next to the search bar. Your Wishlist will be empty by default, so you'll need to add games to it manually.

To add a game to your Wishlist, go to a game's store page. On a game's store page, next to the purchase button, click on the Wishlist box.

After adding a game, you will receive a notification that the game is now in your wishlist, and you will now receive notifications and emails if the game releases, new content arrives, or if the game goes on sale.

The Future of Epic Games' Social Experience

In the future, you'll be able to communicate via text and voice across all platforms and all games. Epic Games also plans on bringing direct messaging and achievements to the platform before 2021 ends.

Users will now have to choose which gaming platform to buy from carefully. Although, most gamers will end up buying from whichever store offers the lowest price.

Due to the rise of Epic Games' popularity, the social aspects of the launcher have been a significant priority for Epic Games and will most likely stay that way in the future.

In this article, we pit Steam vs. Epic Games Store, taking a look at different aspects of these two stores.

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Nicholas Wilson is a content producer who specializes in video game critique. He loves diving into imaginative games that push the boundaries of innovation.

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