Epic Games announced a preview of a refreshed PC games launcher on Wednesday, saying the new version is significantly faster and adds support for Linux alongside Windows and Mac. The company described the refresh as "vibe coded," a reference to its broader push into AI-assisted development. The preview is available beginning today, and the existing launcher will remain available as well.
In a blog post, Epic said programming is difficult and that the company instead vibe coded the new launcher to be faster and more responsive than the current one, with a new look. Epic also plans to bring Fortnite to Linux through the app. The company did not give a specific timeline for when all users will be required to move to the new version.
Martin Keely, Epic's VP and GM of the Epic Games Store and Epic Online Services, told The Verge that AI was used as a tool for the project and is part of the company's migration to using AI in new ways. Keely said the technology was helpful for testing and for replicating core functionality from the existing launcher, and that it also allows Epic to offer the new launcher on Linux.
Keely said Epic has worked on the launcher for most of this year, and while AI helped accelerate development, the team did not adopt the "no more hand-written code" model reported by Bloomberg. He said agents wrote and reviewed all of the code and were used to replicate core functionality, but the development team managed the process and supervised the entirety of the work. Keely said the team's approach predates what CEO Tim Sweeney announced this week but is on the same train.
On Monday, Sweeney announced a huge pivot underway at Epic, with developers being moved around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. He said the aim is not to do the same work with fewer people but to enable everyone to build more and better things and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal. Bloomberg reported this week that an Epic director on an unannounced Disney title told staffers there would be no more hand-written code.
Keely said the launcher demonstrates the speed and efficiency of both the development process and the output, which gives Epic confidence that its direction is positive for the company and for game development overall. The full launch will happen when the update feels stable and has parity with the current launcher in all places Epic needs. In March, Epic laid off more than 1,000 staffers; Sweeney said in a memo at the time that the layoffs were not related to AI and that the company wants as many developers as possible working on content and tech.
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