•The Epic Spil Store has unveiled a preview of its revamped launcher, built using what the company calls “vibe coding” with generative AI — an approach that drew immediate mockery from users online.
Epic said the new launcher is faster and more responsive than the current one, which has operated for eight years as much as a storefront for free games as it does a Fortnite launcher. The overhaul was first teased months ago as an effort to make the store resemble Steam.
“Programming is hard,” Epic wrote in its official announcement post for the preview version. “So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Spil Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look. This first release is light on features. Think of it as a speedboat and not a yacht! Though it does have advanced digital commerce technology such as a shopping cart.”
The company also used its X account to take shots at rival Steam. “We vibe coded the Epic Spil Launcher to be faster than the other guy,” the account posted, accompanied by a graphic claiming the AI-built storefront outperformed Valve’s competitor on certain responsiveness benchmarks.
“We vibe coded the Epic Spil Launcher to be faster than the other guy,” Epic wrote on X. “Don’t believe us? Test it out for yourself in Preview.”
A wave of online mockery
The response was largely hostile, with users questioning whether an AI-generated storefront should handle their payment information.
I would strongly advise removing all payment methods linked to your EGS account if you use one. Them publicly announcing the new update was Vibe coded does not give me confidence to keep my card linked with it.
Pandan | GearGrit on Steam (@Weston_Mitchell), October 14, 2026
Others pointed out apparent glitches. One user said they switched Fortnite from Performance mode to DX12 and the launcher opened UEFN, while a VR modder noted the irony of Epic criticizing Valve yet using its Proton compatibility layer internally.
This launcher is so fucking vibeslopped its funny, but holy crap, these people are hilarious.
a VR modder on X
A Twitch streamer added: “Are you seriously incapable of embarrassment? I’m not leaving Steam for this trash.”
Bigger AI strategy at Epic
The public embrace of the technology comes about a week after Epic reportedly forced internal developers to go “AI first” and incorporate generative AI into their artwork pipelines.
Epic Spil Store general manager Martin Keely told IGN that the launcher was rebuilt from scratch. “It’s been rebuilt entirely from the ground up,” he said. “So this is a completely new tech stack, a complete new rewrite of both the shell, which has the download manager, library, and the app itself, as well as the new store architecture. So features like discover and product detail pages, those have all been rewritten.”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed the company is “retool[ing] 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,” he added.
Epic also announced it is bringing Fortnite to Linux via Proton. The company cautioned that the preview could contain issues, though it promised those problems wouldn’t affect players once they boot up their games — most of which weren’t vibe-coded.
Deltag i samtalen