•The Epic Ігри Store has launched a completely rebuilt client, available as a “preview” build for Windows and Mac, along with a Linux version released for the first time.
According to PC Gamer, which was shown a demonstration of the client ahead of its announcement, the speed improvements were significant. Epic says it has halved the launcher’s startup time and that it now moves from a cold start to the store page 46% faster than Steam — claims the company says have been verified by an external vendor. PC Gamer noted it had not yet tested the client itself.
The update includes interface changes, with a redesigned library view described as the standout feature. It also adds the ability to import shortcuts to games installed through Steam and other clients.
We started from scratch. This is a completely new architecture for both the store and the launcher shell. So we did look at functionality that existed and said we want to replicate that, but not the code itself. So [AI] was 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.
Martin Keely, Epic Ігри Store general manager
Epic refers to the new client as “vibe coded” — a term for using AI tools by prompting them to generate code. On a call this week with Epic Ігри Store GM Martin Keely, who took over in August, PC Gamer asked whether AI was used primarily to analyze the existing EGS code or to write new code. Keely affirmed it was the latter.
The company leaned into humor about its approach, saying it chose to use AI because “programming is hard,” but said it was not joking about its reliance on AI coding tools.
Epic has been notably enthusiastic about AI more broadly. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Epic instructed the team working on an unannounced Star Wars and Marvel shooter to take an “AI first” approach to development. Following that report, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said the company was undertaking a major pivot.
“We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration,” Sweeney said. “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 also announced it is upgrading Easy Anti-Cheat so that it can bring Fortnite to Linux and help other багатокористувацька games make the jump — a development that could be significant for Linux gamers who have been excluded from many big багатокористувацька titles due to lack of anti-cheat support.
The preview client is not being distributed through the existing Epic Ігри Store software. Epic is treating it as a beta test, expecting gradual adoption through word-of-mouth while it works through feedback.
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