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Epic's vibe-coded launcher preview starts 46% faster than Steam in a test Epic commissioned

Epic Games has released a preview of a rebuilt launcher that it says it vibe coded and calls light on features. The 46% startup lead over Steam comes from a test Epic commissioned, and the backlash so far is posts on X.

The Engineer · Build desk

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Epic's tray lead over Steam is 0.06 seconds Epic's speed claims against Steam, from five tests Epic commissioned from Keywords Studios across 13 Windows platforms.

Epic says its new launcher is 46% faster than Steam from a cold start and 14% faster when restoring from the system tray, which Tom's Hardware notes accounts for 0.06 seconds. Epic commissioned the testing from Keywords Studios across 13 Windows platforms.

Epic's tray lead over Steam is 0.06 seconds
FigureValueNoteClaim
Faster than Steam from a cold start, per Epic46%8
Faster than Steam restoring from tray, per Epic14%0.06 seconds, per Tom's Hardware8
Windows platforms tested13 platforms9

What happened

  • Epic lists "certain social features and account management options" as missing and says it is working toward feature parity.
  • Epic suggests Unreal developers and competitive Fortnite and Rocket League players stay on the old launcher, and Tom's Hardware says the reason is unclear.
  • One X user advised removing every payment method linked to an Epic account, and Kotaku described a wave of roasting over the vibe-coded framing.

Why it matters

  • Who has to decide decision Players with a card on file have to choose between trusting a build Epic itself says could have issues and removing the card, as one X user urged.
  • What it limits constraint The 46% figure measures cold starts against Steam on machines like the 13 tested, so current users cannot use it to decide whether to switch from the old launcher.
  • Who's exposed exposure The reputational cost so far is attached to the vibe-coded label on a storefront that holds card details, and the only reaction reported is posts on X.

The 46% figure is the only measured comparison Epic published, and the comparison is with Steam. Epic says the new launcher starts 46% faster than Steam from a cold start and 14% faster restoring from the system tray [8]. Keywords Studios ran the testing for Epic, in five tests across 13 Windows platforms [9]. For that number to transfer to your machine, the machine has to resemble those 13, cold start has to be the delay you care about, and Steam has to have been measured in the same state.

Existing Epic users would want a different comparison. Tom's Hardware noted that Epic's only statement about its own current launcher is that the new one is "way faster and more responsive" [10]. The "30x faster" claim for the library, on Epic's landing page, comes with no details [10].

The tray number is small. Tom's Hardware pointed out that the 14% gain amounts to 0.06 seconds [8]. If that is the absolute gap and the 14% is measured against Steam's time, Steam restores in about 0.43 seconds and Epic in about 0.37 [17]. In our view a gap that size is hard to feel.

The label is a separate question from the speed. Epic's announcement said "we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that's way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look" [1]. It also says the preview has "advanced digital commerce technology such as a shopping cart" [6]. Epic Games Store general manager Martin Keely described the work to IGN: "So this is a completely new tech stack, a complete new rewrite of both the shell, which has the download manager, library, and the app itself, as well as the new store architecture" [7]. He added that discover and product detail pages have been rewritten too [7]. Kotaku described the storefront as the place where Epic wants millions of players to store their credit card info [16].

Epic did not disclose which parts an AI model wrote, how much, or how the code was reviewed, and none of the reports cite a payment bug or a count of removed cards. Kotaku described a wave of people roasting the framing and said the launcher appears borked [15]. One user wrote, "I would strongly advise removing all payment methods linked to your EGS account if you use one" [13]. Another posted that on day one, switching Fortnite from Performance mode to DX12 opened UEFN [14]. That is a single user's report.

Epic's own guidance is cautious. It suggests Unreal developers and competitive Fortnite and Rocket League players stay on the old launcher [12]. It lists "certain social features and account management options" as missing and says it is working toward "feature parity" [11]. The disclaimer reads, "The new Epic Games Launcher is in Preview for testing, and with any beta there could be issues" [3]. Epic promises those problems will not affect players once they boot their games, most of which were not vibe coded [5].

CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed this week that Epic is retooling for maximum AI acceleration, according to Kotaku [4].

What to watch

  • Whether Epic publishes a comparison against its own current launcher, or details behind the "30x faster" library claim.
  • Whether the stable release closes the missing social and account management features, and whether Epic stops steering Unreal developers and competitive players to the old launcher.
  • Whether Epic says which parts of the launcher, including the store and cart, an AI model wrote and how that code was reviewed.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence35
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives75
Confidence60

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 30%
Operator
Operator 38%
Investor
Investor 32%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    Epic's announcement post for the preview launcher said: "we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that's way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look."

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games announcement post, quoted by Kotaku and Tom's HardwareView cited source
  2. [2]

    The same Epic post said: "This first release is light on features."

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games announcement post, quoted by KotakuView cited source
  3. [3]

    Epic's disclaimer reads: "The new Epic Games Launcher is in Preview for testing, and with any beta there could be issues."

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games disclaimer, quoted by KotakuView cited source
  4. [4]

    Epic CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed this week that Epic is "retool[ing] for maximum AI acceleration."

    Reported Supported Source: Tim Sweeney, quoted by KotakuView cited source
  5. [5]

    Epic promises that preview problems will not affect players once they boot up their games, most of which were not vibe coded.

    Reported Supported Source: Kotaku, describing Epic's promiseView cited source
  6. [6]

    Epic's post says the preview launcher "does have advanced digital commerce technology such as a shopping cart."

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games announcement post, quoted by KotakuView cited source
  7. [7]

    Epic Games Store general manager Martin Keely told IGN: "So this is a completely new tech stack, a complete new rewrite of both the shell, which has the download manager, library, and the app itself, as well as the new store architecture. So features like discover and product detail pages, those have all been rewritten."

    Reported Supported Source: Martin Keely, Epic Games Store general manager, to IGN, quoted by KotakuView cited source
  8. [8]

    Epic says its new launcher is 46% faster than Steam from a cold start and 14% faster when restoring from the system tray; Tom's Hardware notes the tray metric accounts for 0.06 seconds.

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games claim, reported by Tom's HardwareView cited source
  9. [9]

    Epic commissioned the testing from Keywords Studios, and says its results were gathered from five tests across 13 Windows platforms.

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games, reported by Tom's HardwareView cited source
  10. [10]

    Tom's Hardware notes Epic did not provide performance details comparing the new launcher with the old one beyond calling the new one "way faster and more responsive"; the landing page's "30x faster" library claim comes with no further details.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's HardwareView cited source
  11. [11]

    Epic highlights that "certain social features and account management options" are missing from the new launcher and says it is working toward "feature parity."

    Reported Supported Source: Epic Games, reported by Tom's HardwareView cited source
  12. [12]

    Epic suggests developers working on Unreal projects, and competitive players in Fortnite and Rocket League, continue to use the old launcher; Tom's Hardware says it is not clear why.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's HardwareView cited source
  13. [13]

    A user posting as Pandan | GearGrit on Steam (@Weston_Mitchell) wrote on X: "I would strongly advise removing all payment methods linked to your EGS account if you use one."

    Reported Contested Source: @Weston_Mitchell on X, embedded by KotakuView cited source
  14. [14]

    A user posting as Reisshub wrote on X that on the first day of the vibe coded launcher, switching Fortnite from Performance mode to DX12 opened UEFN.

    Reported Contested Source: @Reisshub on X, embedded by KotakuView cited source
  15. [15]

    Kotaku describes a wave of people roasting Epic's vibe-coded framing and says the launcher appears borked in ways not usually seen for a product rollout.

    Reported Contested Source: KotakuView cited source
  16. [16]

    Kotaku characterizes the storefront as the place where Epic wants millions of players to store their credit card info.

    Reported Contested Source: KotakuView cited source
  17. [17]

    If 0.06 seconds is the absolute gap and 14% is measured against Steam's time, Steam's tray restore takes about 0.43 seconds and Epic's about 0.37 seconds.

    Derived Insufficient

Sources

3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. gamesindustry.biz

    1 article · October 15, 2026

    Epic Games claims its new "vibe coded" launcher runs 46% faster than Steam from cold start to store page | GamesIndustry.biz
  2. kotaku.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Epic Dunks On Steam With Vibe-Coded Storefront And Gets Roasted: 'This Launcher Is So F*cking Vibeslopped Its Funny'
  3. tomshardware.com

    1 article · October 14, 2026

    Epic Games vibe codes new launcher because 'programming is hard,' claims it starts 46% faster than Steam

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