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Epic deploys vibe coding to rebuild its game launcher from scratch

Epic Games shipped a rebuilt Games Launcher coded mostly by AI, claiming it loads faster than Steam. The company says the AI-first rewrite let a small team ship a cross-platform client from scratch, with cold starts up to 5x quicker.

2 min read
CreativesIT and developmentProduct developmentWriters

Epic Games released a public preview of a rebuilt Games Launcher on Thursday, built largely with AI-assisted coding. The company claims the new client loads faster than Valve's Steam and marks a deliberate shift toward what CEO Tim Sweeney calls an "AI first" development approach across the organization.

Built from scratch with AI

Epic Games Store General Manager and VP Martin Keely told PC Gamer that the team "started from scratch" and used AI as "a tool to write and review new features and new capabilities from the ground up in a different tech stack than what we had previously." The goal was to replicate existing functionality without reusing the old code base. Keely said the process "made us more efficient and allowed a small team to rewrite the code base and be able to launch it faster across platforms, support Windows and Mac, and we're going to have a Linux version as well."

Epic's social media announcement leaned into the term vibe coding, writing that "programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher." The phrasing is partly tongue-in-cheek, but the underlying method is real: AI handled code generation and review for the new launcher, which sits on a different technology stack than the legacy version.

Speed claims and early testing

Ars Technica's testing confirmed the new launcher reaches the store page from a cold start a few seconds faster than Steam, assuming no login or update delays. Epic also claims the launcher restores from the system tray to the Library screen 0.06 seconds faster than Steam - a margin small enough to be unnoticeable in practice.

The company first previewed this "storefront rearchitecture" at Unreal Fest in June, promising "5x faster cold start" times. The current Preview build adds a Recent Games list and a centralized downloads hub for tracking network activity. An FAQ notes that "certain social features and account management options" have not yet migrated from the legacy launcher, and Epic said it is "working toward feature parity."

An AI-first pivot at Epic

The launcher release arrives days after a Bloomberg report detailed Epic's pivot to an AI-first development model for an upcoming Star Wars and Marvel-themed shooter. Tim Sweeney addressed the shift on social media Monday: "We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal."

Epic warns that the Preview "will have some bugs" and is currently "light on features." Early testers can submit feedback through a form to help squash issues before the full release.

Why this matters for developers and product teams

Epic's approach signals a practical template for small teams rewriting production software with AI assistance - not just prototyping, but shipping a public-facing client across multiple operating systems. The emphasis on speed as a competitive metric also underscores how user-facing performance, not just feature lists, can differentiate a product. For teams exploring AI-assisted development workflows, the launcher's real-world deployment offers a measurable case study rather than a theoretical one.

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