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You can't gift games on the Epic Games Store, as you can only buy games for your own account — here's what you need to know

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The Epic Games Store doesn't support gifting yet. Chesnot/Getty Images
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Although the Epic Games Launcher is becoming increasingly seen as an alternative to Steam, it's still missing a lot of the features that made Steam so popular.

One of these is a gifting feature.

You can't gift games on the Epic Games Store

As of this writing, there's no way to send a game as a gift through the Epic Games Store or Launcher. When you buy a game through the Epic Games Store, it's yours, no one else's.

You could get around this by giving your username and password to a friend and letting them use your account. But that's against Epic Games' rules, and carries the risks that always come with sharing your passwords.

Although you can't send gifts, you can always purchase games for yourself. Here's how to purchase a game through the Epic Games Store, which you can use however you see fit.

How to make a purchase on Epic Games

You can buy games through the Epic Games website or Launcher app.

To use the website:

1. Open the Epic Games Store in a browser and log into your Epic Games account if you're not already signed in. 

2. Find the game you want to purchase. 

3. Click "Buy Now." 

Can you gift games on Epic Games 1
You can use the store on the Epic Games website to make purchases.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

4. Choose a payment method and click "Checkout" on the order summary page. 

To use the Epic Games Launcher:

1. Start the Epic Games Launcher on your desktop. 

2. In the navigation pane on the left, click "Store."

3. Find the game you want to purchase, either on the main page or by searching for it, and click "Buy Now."

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The Epic Games Launcher also includes a store where you can buy games.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

4. Choose a payment method and click "Checkout" on the order summary page. 

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Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.