Epic releases vibe-coded Epic Games Launcher Preview it says is faster than Steam
Nearly eight years after Epic took on Steam with its own Game Store and launcher, the Fortnite maker is using vibe coding as a new way to try to get ahead of Valve. Epic has released a publicly available "Preview" build of a new Epic Games Launcher, and its announcement is blunt about how it was made: "programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that's way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look."
The line might sound tongue-in-cheek, but Epic Games Store General Manager and VP Martin Keely told PC Gamer the team "started from scratch" and used AI as "a tool to write and review new features and new capabilities from the ground up in a different tech stack than what we had previously." The goal, Keely said, was to look at the functionality of the existing Launcher and replicate that, but not the code itself.
Speaking to IGN, Keely said that using AI to code the new Launcher "made us more efficient and allowed a small team to rewrite the code base and be able to launch it faster across platforms, support Windows and Mac, and we're going to have a Linux version as well."
Speed is the centrepiece of the pitch. Epic Games Store's social media post of October 14, 2026 says "we vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher to be faster than the other guy" and invites people to try the Preview themselves. Ars Technica's own testing confirms that the new Launcher goes from a cold start to the store page a few seconds faster than Steam, assuming no login or update issues get in the way. Epic also claims the new Launcher can restore from the system tray to the Library screen slightly faster than Steam, but the claimed difference of 0.06 seconds is so small as to be unnoticeable, and it was unnoticeable in Ars's testing.
Key facts
- Epic Games has released a publicly available Preview build of a new Epic Games Launcher that it says was vibe coded and is faster and more responsive than the current one, with a new look.
- Martin Keely, Epic Games Store General Manager and VP, says the team started from scratch in a different tech stack and aimed to replicate the old Launcher's functionality but not its code.
- Ars Technica's testing found a cold start to the store page a few seconds faster than Steam, assuming no login or update issues.
- Epic's claimed tray-to-Library restore advantage over Steam is 0.06 seconds, which Ars says is unnoticeable and was in its testing.
- Keely told IGN a small team did the rewrite, with Windows and Mac supported and a Linux version planned.
Why it matters
A first-party games storefront is publicly saying that its main client was rewritten with vibe coding, and it is making that the selling point rather than hiding it. Epic frames the rewrite as a way to compete with Valve on something users can feel: startup speed. Keely's account is that AI let a small team rewrite the code base from the ground up in a different tech stack and ship across platforms faster.
Who it affects
Anyone who uses the Epic Games Launcher or compares it with Steam, since the Preview is publicly available and changes the look of the app. Windows and Mac users are covered by the new build, and Keely told IGN that a Linux version is coming. Epic's own developers and the wider games industry are also an audience for the claim that a small team can rewrite a launcher with AI assistance.
How to use it
The new Launcher is available now as a public Preview, and Epic invites people to download it and test the speed themselves. Per Keely, it supports Windows and Mac, with Linux planned.
How solid is it
The speed claim is partly independently checked. Ars Technica's own testing confirms a cold start to the store page a few seconds faster than Steam, with the caveat that login or update problems could change that. The only specific number is Epic's 0.06-second claim for restoring from the system tray to the Library, and Ars says that difference was unnoticeable. No exact measured startup times are given, only "a few seconds faster". The account of how the Launcher was built comes from Epic and Keely's interviews with PC Gamer and IGN.
Risks and caveats
This is a Preview build, not the final Launcher, and no release date for the final build is given. No date or timescale for the Linux version is given. The source does not name the AI tool or model used for coding, and it gives no size for the team or amount of development time. The tray-restore gain is too small to notice, so the speed advantage rests on cold-start time, and that comparison assumes no login or update issues.
“we vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher to be faster than the other guy.”
— Epic Games Store, social media announcement, October 14, 2026