[Package Issue]: EpicGames.EpicGamesLauncher updates breaks Microsoft Store version

[gabbsmo]

Please confirm these before moving forward

• I have searched for my issue and not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved issue.
• I have not been informed if the issue is resolved in a preview version of the winget client.

Category of the issue

Side-by-side installation.

Brief description of your issue

Epic Games is a particularly naughty package. It is available as "Epic Games Store" in the Microsoft Store. On launching it installs two applications: "Epic Games Launcher" and "Epic Games Online Services". Launcher is a winget package but not Online Services.

I thought it was an accident first but now I have seen twice in a row that updating the "Epic Games Launcher" package breaks the shortcut to EpicGamesLauncher.exe - which seems to be deleted.

Another symptom is that the button that normally shows "installed" on the Epic Games Store page in Microsoft Store is just a blank box.

Originally reported this issue to the Winget Auto Update project. Though it seems to be an issue with the package itself - that becomes very visible with automatic updates.

Steps to reproduce

1. Uninstall Epic Games Launcher from Windows Settings
2. Install Epic Games from the Microsoft Store
3. Launch Epic Games
4. Close Epic Games
5. Update EpicGames.EpicGamesLauncher with winget

Actual behavior

Breaks Epic Games

Expected behavior

Should not break Epic Games. Maybe delist or deprecate this package in favor of the Store version.

Environment

Windows Package Manager v1.28.240
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.26200.8246
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.28.240.0

Winget Directories                 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs                               %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Diag…
User Settings                      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\sett…
Portable Links Directory (User)    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links
Portable Links Directory (Machine) C:\Program Files\WinGet\Links
Portable Package Root (User)       %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root              C:\Program Files\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root (x86)        C:\Program Files (x86)\WinGet\Packages
Installer Downloads                %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
Configuration Modules              %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Configuration\Modules

Links               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privacy Statement   https://aka.ms/winget-privacy
License Agreement   https://aka.ms/winget-license
Third Party Notices https://aka.ms/winget-3rdPartyNotice
Homepage            https://aka.ms/winget
Windows Store Terms https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/storedocs/terms-of-sale

Admin Setting                             State
--------------------------------------------------
LocalManifestFiles                        Disabled
BypassCertificatePinningForMicrosoftStore Disabled
InstallerHashOverride                     Disabled
LocalArchiveMalwareScanOverride           Disabled
ProxyCommandLineOptions                   Disabled
DefaultProxy                              Disabled

Screenshots and Logs

2026-03-22 17:35:22.750 [CORE] Passed in Correlation Vector Json is valid: {"wingetId":"XP99VR1BPSBQJ2","info":{"storeId":"XP99VR1BPSBQJ2","storeCv":"V4tZy2EeOEyr2ubuuuS8gw"}}
2026-03-22 17:35:22.750 [CORE] WinGet, version [1.28.220], activity [{DBCB87B5-601D-4E7A-A887-15CAE5E5200A}]
2026-03-22 17:35:22.750 [CORE] Process: WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe[18940], Offset: 00007FF9CB830000
2026-03-22 17:35:22.750 [CORE] OS: Windows.Desktop v10.0.26200.8037
2026-03-22 17:35:22.750 [CORE] Command line Args: "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.28.220.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe" -Embedding
2026-03-22 17:35:22.751 [CORE] Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.28.220.0
2026-03-22 17:35:22.751 [CORE] IsCOMCall:1; Caller: Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe
2026-03-22 17:35:22.774 [CLI ] Executing command: download
2026-03-22 17:35:22.775 [CLI ] Package agreements accepted by CLI flag
2026-03-22 17:35:22.799 [CLI ] Generated temp download path: C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82
2026-03-22 17:35:22.799 [CLI ] Installer download headers:
2026-03-22 17:35:22.799 [CORE] Downloading to path: C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82
2026-03-22 17:35:22.799 [CORE] DeliveryOptimization downloading from url: https://cdn.storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/wus2/cachedpackages/d36fcc10-a805-47ce-924f-9be09c8ea60f_7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82
2026-03-22 17:35:26.556 [CORE] Download completed.
2026-03-22 17:35:26.736 [CORE] Started applying motw to C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82 with zone: 3
2026-03-22 17:35:26.738 [CORE] Finished applying motw
2026-03-22 17:35:26.738 [CLI ] Installer hash verified
2026-03-22 17:35:26.738 [CORE] Started applying motw to C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82 with zone: 2
2026-03-22 17:35:26.739 [CORE] Finished applying motw
2026-03-22 17:35:26.740 [CLI ] Successfully renamed downloaded installer. Path: C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\d36fcc10-a805-47ce-924f-9be09c8ea60f_7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82.msi
2026-03-22 17:35:26.740 [CLI ] Executing command: install
2026-03-22 17:35:26.826 [CLI ] Installer hash verified
2026-03-22 17:35:26.826 [REPO] Creating new SQLite Index with version [Latest] at ':memory:'
2026-03-22 17:35:26.829 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2026-03-22 17:35:26.843 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2026-03-22 17:35:26.867 [CLI ] Installer args: /passive /log "C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\DiagOutputDir\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0-26-03-22-17-35-26.log"
2026-03-22 17:35:44.637 [REPO] Creating new SQLite Index with version [Latest] at ':memory:'
2026-03-22 17:35:44.640 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2026-03-22 17:35:44.663 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2026-03-22 17:35:44.680 [CLI ] During package install, 1 changes to ARP were observed, 1 matches were found for the package, and 1 packages were in both
2026-03-22 17:35:44.680 [CLI ] The entry determined to be associated with the package is 'Epic Games Launcher', with publisher 'Epic Games, Inc.'
2026-03-22 17:35:44.684 [REPO] Opening database for ReadWrite at 'C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\StoreEdgeFD\installed.db'
2026-03-22 17:35:44.684 [REPO] Opened SQLite Index with version [1.7], last write [2026-03-22 10:24:22.000]
2026-03-22 17:35:44.702 [CLI ] Removing installer: C:\Users\gabri\AppData\Local\Temp\WinGet\XP99VR1BPSBQJ2.1.3.175.0\d36fcc10-a805-47ce-924f-9be09c8ea60f_7a5c6881412ad1956a9ab22cd73aeb060fde98c001bc7409fe94c479bd97df82.msi