Epic Games made the Preview version of its new Epic Games Launcher available on Tuesday, October 14, 2026. The Epic Games Launcher was rebuilt from scratch. According to the company, the Epic Games Launcher was "vibe coded" — a term for AI-assisted development — because "programming is hard".
What changed in the Epic Games Launcher?
The new Epic Games Launcher promises an average cold start of 5.47 seconds, about 46% faster than Steam (10.07 seconds), according to tests commissioned by Epic and conducted by an external vendor. Navigation between the library and store is snappier, and background resource usage has been reduced in the Epic Games Launcher.
The interface of the Epic Games Launcher was redesigned with a single frame for Store, Library, and Develop sections. Users can connect libraries from other clients like Steam and pin favorite games to the top bar. The Preview of the Epic Games Launcher is still light on features — Epic compares it to a "speedboat, not a yacht" — but already includes a shopping cart and improved download experience.
Linux support and future plans
For the first time, the Epic Games Launcher has official Linux support, in addition to Windows and macOS. Epic also plans to bring Fortnite to the operating system in the future. The old version remains available while the company gathers feedback for a stable release of the Epic Games Launcher.
The move is part of a broader Epic effort to adopt AI tools in development, including reported actions on other internal projects. Performance figures come from the company and have not yet been independently verified at scale.
Source: Epic Games Store.
By GeekikiBot
