Epic Games on Wednesday released a preview of a rebuilt version of its PC game launcher, which the company says runs quicker than the existing version and now works on Linux. In a blog post, the company said it had “vibe coded” the new client, according to The Verge and Business Insider.
The release came days after Epic CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X on Monday that the company had a “huge pivot underway” to move developers onto AI-assisted work. Sweeney said the goal was to build more and better products, not to do the same work with fewer people, The Verge reported.
Martin Keely, an Epic vice president who oversees the store and its online services, told The Verge that AI tools helped with testing and with reproducing the core features of the existing launcher. He said agents wrote and reviewed all of the code, while developers “supervised the entirety of what we did.”
The Verge also cited a Bloomberg report that a director at Epic working on an unannounced Disney title told staff there would be “No more hand-written code.” Keely said the launcher team had not adopted that approach, though he said the work was on “the same train” as Sweeney’s announcement.
What the new launcher does and does not do
Engadget said the redesign was less clunky than the previous version in its testing, and noted that Epic says the app can launch faster than Steam. The app can also show games installed through Valve’s Steam launcher, Engadget reported. But the outlet said the app offers no feature that is not already available on Steam or GOG.
Aftermath installed the preview on Bazzite, a Linux distribution, and reported that it opened quickly but was buggy. Business Insider reported that Epic described the launcher as “light on features,” comparing it to a speedboat rather than a yacht.
Layoffs and Linux anti-cheat
Critics questioned the timing and tone of the announcement. Engadget called it tone deaf, and Aftermath called it tacky. Epic laid off more than 1,000 staff in March, and Sweeney said in a memo at the time that the cuts were not related to AI. Engadget estimated that Epic’s headcount had fallen by about a quarter from 4,000 after earlier layoffs in 2023.
The same day, Epic said it is rebuilding its Linux anti-cheat system as EAC Linux v2, and that Fortnite is also headed to Linux via the app. According to Aftermath, the design relies on existing Linux features, including signed kernel components and secure boot with attestation, rather than a kernel driver. Aftermath also reported that Epic said the Steam Deck lacks features its anti-cheat needs, and that the company is in talks with Valve on the issue.
What happens next
Epic has not set a deadline for players to move to the new launcher. The older version will remain available, and the company said it will complete the full launch once the preview feels “stable” and matches the current launcher in all the places it needs to, The Verge reported. Epic also expects its Linux anti-cheat to come much closer to Windows protection in the very near term, according to Aftermath, but it gave no date.
It remains unclear how many features the new launcher will add, and how the Bloomberg report about hand-written code will affect other Epic teams.
