Epic Games releases AI built launcher preview to challenge Steam speed

Epic Games has released a publicly available preview version of its new games launcher, which the company claims was vibe coded using artificial intelligence, Ars Technica, Neowin, VideoCardz.com, TechPowerUp, and Tom's Hardware reported on October 13 and October 14, 2026. Epic Games stated that it used artificial intelligence tools to rewrite the software client from the ground up rather than relying on traditional programming, Ars Technica reported. [1][2][3][4][5]

The company claims the new application is significantly faster than Valve's competing Steam client. TechPowerUp and Tom's Hardware reported that Epic Games claims the new launcher starts 46 percent faster than Steam. Meanwhile, VideoCardz.com reported that Epic Games claims the launcher is 1.8 times faster than Steam and adds official Linux support. Ars Technica noted that Epic Games warned users that the preview application will contain bugs during its current testing phase. [1][3][4][5]

According to Ars Technica, Epic Games Store General Manager and Vice President Martin Keely told PC Gamer that the development team started from scratch to write and review features. The Epic Games Store originally launched in December 2018 as a software client for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It expanded to Android and iOS in August 2024, though the iOS version was limited to users in Europe. [1][6]

The platform provides friend list management and game matchmaking, but it does not plan to add feature-heavy tools like user reviews or discussion boards. Instead, Epic Games relies on existing social media platforms to support those community features [6]. The new preview build represents an ongoing effort by Epic Games to gain market share against Steam nearly eight years after launching its digital storefront [1]. [1][6]