Fortnite developer Epic Games has launched its new “vibe-coded” launcher, now available to players in Preview. Following CEO Tim Sweeney’s October 12, 2026, announcement that Epic is shifting toward AI-first development, the company is putting that approach into practice with its redesigned launcher, which it claims is faster than Steam.
According to Epic Games’ new launcher preview, it opens the Epic Games Store in 5.47 seconds from a cold start, while Steam takes 10.07 seconds. When reopening the Library from the system tray, Epic’s launcher takes 0.36 seconds, compared with Steam’s 0.42 seconds, so it’s significantly faster than Valve’s launcher.
Epic Games says that the new launcher loads faster, shows your playtime, and compiles all your downloads into one place. The new launcher also makes the Epic Games Library much smoother and around 30 times faster than the previous one, letting you switch between Details and Grid views, create visual collections, and hide games you don’t play.
The redesigned launcher puts recently played games front and center, brings social features into the app, and lets users personalize the top bar. However, the biggest addition is that the new launcher supports Linux. Previously, Epic Games planned to bring a native Linux launcher, and now it’s here, even though the company said the Preview won’t be available on Linux.
Epic said the new launcher might contain bugs, since it’s only a Preview, and wants players to provide feedback to improve it. Although Epic’s “vibe-coded” approach and claims of being faster than Steam have ticked off some players, the new launcher still looks like a major upgrade over the current version.
For those who don’t know what “vibe-coding” is, it’s an AI-driven practice, so this is Epic’s first move to put the “AI-first” approach into practice. The news also came shortly after Epic announced the Fortnite Yeat collab. If you want to try it yourself, you can download it from the official Epic Games Launcher website.
That said, will you download Epic Games’ new “vibe-coded” launcher? Tell us in the comments section below.
Related Articles