Epic Games Store Bug Causing Excess CPU Heat | Screen Rant
A bug in the Epic Games Store launcher is causing intense heat spikes in some users' central processing units. The Epic Games Store, which is a digital storefront for PC and Mac users to buy and play games, can be used through a browser or launched as an application. The launcher has not been known to increase CPU temperatures in the past, and data tracking may be contributing to the issue.
To celebrate the 2020 holiday season, the Epic Games Store began a very large sale earlier this month which has lasted until the end of the year. The digital storefront began offering effectively unlimited $10 coupons which replace themselves after use, allowing users to save big on practically any purchases being made during the sale. A new free game has been offered every single day, including popular titles such as Alien: Isolation and Tropico 5.
Unfortunately, HotHardware has investigated a bug in the Epic Games Store which causes excessive heat in some users' central processing unit. The issue was first reported by Reddit user Neoncarbon, who revealed that closing the Epic Games Store reduced their CPU heat by 13 degrees Celsius, from 50 degrees C to 37 degrees C. Many other users describing similar issues in the post's comments. HotHardware's investigation found that Ryzen CPUs are most likely to experience this issue, and the intense heat may be due to the Epic Games Store running a number of data collection processes. Epic has issued a hotfix for the issue, but this is not a complete fix.
Despite heating up some users' CPUs, Epic Games is experiencing great success as the new year approaches. The developer's groundbreaking title, Fortnite, continues to enjoy massive popularity among gamers. A recent leak has hinted at a future update to the title, which will apparently add weapon modification to the constantly-growing battle royale title. Another apparent leak has also suggested that InnerSloth's Among Us, a cooperative survival game that received a huge surge in popularity this year, may be coming to the Epic Games Store in the near future.
In the midst of a very lucrative Holiday Sale, now is a very bad time for the Epic Games Store to experience bugs of any kind. While the high CPU temperatures have so far not reportedly damaged any computers, these issues could very easily lead to some ill will from gamers. Many are also questioning why the launcher is causing such high CPU temperatures, with accusations of sneaky data collection beginning to arise. While a hotfix has been issued by Epic Games, a more permanent solution to the bug will hopefully be delivered soon.
Source: HotHarware, Neoncarbon/Reddit