Figured out how to add games tied to the Epic Games Launcher as non-steam games!!

[LucidusAtra]

I FINALLY found the answer to this question! I've been searching. If a game (For Example, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, or Kingdom Hearts) is tied to the Epic Games launcher, simply adding the exe as a non steam game won't work. When you try to launch it, you'll get a message that says "please launch the game through the Epic launcher" or something to that effect. While browsing through old discussions, I found one from 2019 where a joke answer was given: "Add the Epic launcher as the non-Steam game." But it gave me an idea. What if you DID add the launcher as the non-steam game, and then use command line arguments to have it launch the specific game you want? Are there even command line arguments for the Epic Games launcher?

I didn't find any documented online, but I decided to do some experimentation of my own.

If you go into the Epic launcher and create a desktop shortcut for your game, you can go into the shortcut's properties, and you'll see that the "file" it's referencing isn't a file at all. It's a URL. For example, the shortcut to Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is actually a link to the URL "com.epicgames.launcher://apps/6f43ab8025ad42d18510aa91e9eb688b%3Aa763ee8aa3ab407a811bf075ef0b4c58%3Ab25ba0f04dc9434f8a04a062719e7aa7?action=launch&silent=true"

Because of this, trying to add one of these shortcuts as a non-steam game confuses Steam. Clever! BUT! If you add the Epic Games Launcher exe ITSELF as a non steam game, and just paste this URL into the command line arguments (Launch Options in the game's Properties, where you can also edit the game's name and library icon) just like that, your Epic game will be launched through Steam. Magic! You can add multiple instances of the Epic Launcher and rename them in properties/paste in different launch options to add multiple different games.

[rawWwRrr]

Could have sworn I saw this same exact post earlier.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

Could have sworn I saw this same exact post earlier.

They were told by someone else to delete and repost it here.

[seven kd irl]

Not sure if I'm missing something but I couldn't get it to work through the "launch options" however if you replace the "target" (which is above launch options) with the link in quotation marks then it will work.

[Kr1pto]

Could make a tutorial or something cause I really want the steps to do this because I couldn't get it to work.

[Kr1pto]

Originally posted by Kr1pto:

Could make a tutorial or something cause I really want the steps to do this because I couldn't get it to work.

Ok well I pasted the URL in the launch options but it didn't work tho

[MoriohChoHo]

Yeahh I would love some sort of tutorial or more in depth guide! I've tried just about everything, but still when I attempt to open a game on there it just gives me the prompt "please launch the game through the epic games launcher. ".

[Azzaka]

Easiest way is to add a 'Non-Steam Game'. Once added, edit the properties and enter the following in the executable options '-epicportal'. This will Launch the Game without launching the Epic Portal.

You can then edit the Banner and Logo as you wish.

NB: You will need to launch the portal to update the Game.

[Crow_Noise]

Originally posted by seven kd irl:

Not sure if I'm missing something but I couldn't get it to work through the "launch options" however if you replace the "target" (which is above launch options) with the link in quotation marks then it will work.

This worked for getting the game to launch skipping the portal! Thank you!

Only downside so far is I cannot get steam override the game settings so that I can use my controller..

[Nyako]

Originally posted by Azzaka:

Easiest way is to add a 'Non-Steam Game'. Once added, edit the properties and enter the following in the executable options '-epicportal'. This will Launch the Game without launching the Epic Portal.

You can then edit the Banner and Logo as you wish.

NB: You will need to launch the portal to update the Game.

This has to be dependent on the game lol, couldnt get it to work with fortnite

Originally posted by seven kd irl:

Not sure if I'm missing something but I couldn't get it to work through the "launch options" however if you replace the "target" (which is above launch options) with the link in quotation marks then it will work.

The only thing missing from OP's post is a hyphen before the protocol uri (-)

From my testing - If you want the steam beta's "Game recording" feature to work with non steam games [which is the reason i was looking to do this], Steam has to be able to track that the executable is actually running — changing the "target" field to just be a protocol link doesn't seem to work, they display as "running" for about a couple seconds before returning

Fortnite for example:

https://i.imgur.com/1DFdqH5.png

Add the Epic launcher executable as a non steam game, and change it's properties:
Target: "D:\path\to\your\EpicGamesLauncher.exe" (should be filled already)
Start In: leave unchanged
Launch Options: -com.epicgames.launcher://apps/Fortnite?action=launch&silent=true
Notice the -

see also: https://dev.epicgames.com/docs/epic-games-store/protocol-activation#usage

I asked this to claude (which has no access to the internet afaik) and it pointed out the hyphen thing, gj ai overlords lmao

Hope this helps :P

[TheJay]

I take it you re joking about the hyphen? That seemed to remove the shortcut from Steam.


How can I use my Nintendo Pro Controller launching this way? Steam doesn't seem to know it's running and so the controller doesn't operate in the game even though if I go back into the steam app (big picture mode) the controller can be used to navigate.

[ImiC]

I cannot make it work by using EpicLauncher.exe, but found that the one that is working for me is by using Windows own explorer.exe to run the Epic Games' URLs.

So, like how the TS started by using EpicLauncher.exe as the TARGET, I instead replace it by C:\Windows\explorer.exe.
And for the LAUNCH OPTION part, I use the URL too.

[smokerob79]

why would i want to add games to steaming pile when most of us are trying to find a way around this platform???

[chaospearl]

this doesn't work at all for me. The game launches but it's not running via Steam. no Steam overlay, and Steam still shows the green Play button when it's already running.

[YoYoStevo]

I'm trying to play EGS games via Steam Link on a Chromecast and unfortunately this doesn't work. It would work perfectly fine if you could launch EGS games via their .exe, but for some reason it doesn't work that way? When you launch via the .exe it just can't detect EGS is running for some reason... Stupid. What happens if following these instructions is the game does launch perfectly fine, but immediately you are taken back to Steam, the game then loads over you are now basically using Steam Link as a virtual desktop, which means you can only control it via mouse controls and not with normal controller controls. If somehow you could activate normal controls, it would still work, but when exiting the game you are back on Steam Link but it's stuck on mouse controls, it's possible, but difficult to then get normal controller controls back on Steam, weird.

I JUST WANT TO PLAY FALL GUYS ON MY DAMN COUCH, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT. :(

[G R A V E S]

Adding the hyphen makes it work. However, launching through Big Picture mode doesn't work. The Fortnite splash logo appears for a moment before returning to Big Picture, then Fortnite continues to launch in the background. Any ideas how to prevent this?