Epic Games has built its new launcher using so-called vibe coding, and claims the client starts 46% faster than Steam, according to a report carried by Yahoo Tech.

The figure — a 46% startup-time advantage over Valve's dominant PC storefront — is the sharpest operational claim in Epic's pitch. It matters because launcher speed has long been a pain point on PC: slow startup times push players toward Steam, where the bulk of PC game sales already sit.

Epic framed the approach bluntly. The company said it vibe-coded the new launcher because "programming is hard," a nod to the emerging practice of building software with AI assistance rather than hand-writing every line. Vibe coding, in short, means developers describe what they want and let an AI model generate the code, iterating conversationally.

What does this change for studios?

For developers shipping on the Epic Games Store, a faster launcher is a distribution argument, not a technical one. If the new client genuinely boots 46% faster than Steam's, Epic gains a concrete talking point in its long-running fight for PC market share — a fight it has waged through exclusivity deals and a 12% storefront revenue cut versus Steam's 30%.

The vibe-coding angle carries its own signal. If a company of Epic's scale is willing to admit it used AI-generated code for a shipping product, and to say so publicly with the rationale that "programming is hard," it marks a shift in how openly AI-assisted development is marketed rather than hidden.

That openness cuts both ways. AI-generated code in production clients raises questions about stability, security review and long-term maintainability — questions Epic's claim doesn't yet answer. The 46% figure is Epic's own claim, not an independent benchmark, and readers should treat it as such.

Why the launcher fight matters

The Epic Games Store has competed on terms like free weekly games and its lower revenue split. Performance of the client itself has rarely been a headline weapon. A startup-speed claim puts pressure on a metric Valve rarely discusses publicly.

For teams, nothing changes today in the store's economics. The 12/88 revenue split stands. The news is about the storefront's competitive posture and the credibility of AI-assisted engineering at a major platform holder.

The practical question for studios is whether a faster, AI-built client moves player behavior at all. Storefront loyalty on PC runs deep, and speed alone rarely shifts spending. But it gives Epic a measurable, testable claim players can verify themselves the moment the launcher ships.

Worth watching: whether the 46% startup figure survives independent testing once the new launcher reaches users, and whether Valve responds on client performance.