Epic Games has released a rebuilt Epic Games Store launcher that the company says is faster than the previous client, and it has disclosed that AI-assisted development — a method it refers to as "vibe coding" — played a role in building the new version.

The announcement, reported by SavePoint Gaming, positions the new launcher as Epic's latest attempt to address the store client's long-standing performance complaints on PC. For developers and publishers distributing through the Epic Games Store, a faster launcher translates directly into a better storefront experience for the roughly defined PC audience Epic has courted since the store launched in December 2018.

What changes for studios on the Epic Games Store?

The launcher is the primary surface through which players discover, install and update games sold on Epic's platform. A sluggish client has been one of the most persistent criticisms of the store since its debut, alongside its smaller feature set compared with Valve's Steam. A faster launcher could improve:

• install and update throughput for players
• storefront browsing and game discovery
• overall retention on a platform where Epic pays an 88/12 revenue split (developers keep 88% of revenue) in contrast to Steam's default 70/30

Epic has not, in the material available, attached specific benchmark figures to the new client, so studios should treat claims of improved speed as directional until third-party measurements appear.

What is "vibe coding"?

"Vibe coding" is the informal industry term for AI-assisted programming, in which a developer describes desired behavior in natural language and an AI coding tool generates substantial portions of the source code, with the developer steering and reviewing the output rather than writing every line by hand. The term entered wider circulation in early 2025 and has since been cited by a growing number of studios experimenting with large-language-model-based tools to accelerate routine engineering work.

Epic's public association of a shipped, consumer-facing product with the method is notable: launcher clients serve millions of installations, and shipping one with AI-generated code signals growing confidence in the approach for production software rather than internal prototypes. For engineering teams, the takeaway is that AI-assisted tooling is now being used on high-traffic shipping software at a major platform holder.

The competitive context

Epic Games Store remains the most prominent challenger to Steam on PC. Its differentiators to date have been economic and content-driven rather than technical: the 88/12 revenue split, free weekly game giveaways, and exclusivity deals. The launcher itself has been the weakest link in that pitch. A rebuilt, faster client narrows a gap that has likely cost the platform engagement, though Epic has not published comparative performance data in the available reporting.

For publishers weighing distribution strategy, the practical question is whether the improved client changes player behavior enough to lift sell-through on Epic relative to Steam — a question no current public estimate answers.

The signal to watch now is independent performance testing of the new launcher against the old client and against Steam, along with any update cadence Epic establishes for it.