AI-Redesigned Launcher Preview
Epic Games has a new launcher available to download now, which was redesigned with AI. The company says it "vibe coded" the new launcher, and claims it's "way faster" than the current version, as well as 46% faster to start up compared to Steam. Epic Games has set up a landing page where you can download the new launcher, as well as browse its new enhancements.
Programming is hard, according to a blog post discussing the software, prompting the team to vibe code a new Epic Games Launcher that is faster, more responsive, and features a new look. The launcher is currently in an open beta preview phase for public feedback before a future stable release.
New Library Features and Performance
The updated launcher brings several features previously absent from Epic's ecosystem, including dedicated game library pages, a unified downloads page, and collections for categorizing libraries. Epic claims the new library interface is significantly faster.
Despite the new features, the preview remains rough around the edges. The social menu currently follows users from the store to the library without options to close or resize, and certain account management options are still missing as the company works toward feature parity.
Epic Games suggests that developers working on Unreal Engine projects and competitive players of Fortnite and Rocket League continue using the older launcher for now.
Benchmark Testing and System Requirements
Epic commissioned testing from Keywords Studios, which found the new launcher to be 46% faster than Steam from a cold start and 14% faster when restoring from the system tray. Results were gathered from five tests across 13 Windows platforms.
Comparative performance metrics between the new launcher and the legacy version were not detailed beyond general responsiveness claims.
The preview is available for Windows 10 and 11, macOS 12 or newer, and Linux distributions including Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Fedora 43, and Debian 12.
The release aligns with a broader industry push toward automated workflows and AI-first development practices within the company.
