Epic Games Store's relaunched Faster Than Steam tool is based on outdated Steam figures, according to a report by FRVR — a claim that lands awkwardly for a product whose entire pitch is being faster than Valve's storefront.

The tool, which FRVR describes as "vibe-coded" — that is, built quickly with AI assistance and shipped without the usual rigor — relaunched in a buggy state, the report says. The comparison figures it uses to benchmark against Steam apparently don't reflect Steam's current numbers.

What does this change for developers?

For studios weighing distribution, the practical question is simple: can you trust a performance comparison built on stale data? FRVR's answer, evidently, is no.

The claim matters because Epic has positioned speed as a competitive lever against Steam. If the benchmark underlying that positioning uses outdated Steam figures, the argument weakens at the foundation. Add reported bugs in the relaunched tool itself, and the picture is of a comparison tool that fails on both accuracy and reliability.

The "vibe-coded" framing is the sharpest part of FRVR's critique. It suggests Epic prioritized shipping speed over verification — an irony, given the product's name. A tool meant to prove Epic loads faster than Steam reportedly loads its own errors.

Why the data gap matters

Benchmark claims only work if both sides of the comparison come from the same moment in time. Using older Steam figures in a fresh comparison risks overstating any gap, in whichever direction it falls. FRVR doesn't specify which figures are outdated or by how much, but the accusation alone puts the burden of proof back on Epic.

For developers, storefront performance claims feed real decisions: where to launch, how to weight revenue splits against discoverability, and whether platform marketing holds up. A flawed benchmark doesn't sink those decisions on its own, but it does mean one data point deserves less weight than it claimed.

Epic has not, per the report, addressed the discrepancy publicly. That silence is worth noting — storefront competition has long been fought through public claims and counterclaims, and Epic has historically been quick to defend its numbers.

Whether Epic updates the Faster Than Steam tool with current Steam figures — or responds to FRVR's characterization at all — is the signal to watch next.