IA en un minutoNewsBusiness and products
Epic Games unveils a new store launcher built with AI, now in preview
IA en un minuto newsroom · Editor: Jon Elgezabal
In 30 seconds
The maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine claims its new Epic Games Launcher came from handing the coding to an artificial intelligence. According to the company, it opens sooner, weighs less when left running out of sight and brings group voice chat, games from other libraries on the computer and two ways to view the collection. The early version is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine, says it used AI to create the new version of its launcher, the desktop app for its PC game store.
It made the announcement on Wednesday, October 14, in a post on its news page, as reported by Videogames Chronicle. The company wrote that "programming is hard" and that it therefore built the new Epic Games Launcher through vibe coding, meaning it described to an AI what it wanted so the AI would write the code itself. According to Epic, it starts sooner, responds better when moving between the library and the store, uses fewer resources while it runs in the background and has a new look. It also warns that this first version comes with few features, comparing it to "a speedboat and not a yacht".
Among the new features it lists, according to Xataka, are groups with voice chat to talk to friends in Fortnite, in the store and in the Epic app; the option to connect the other game libraries on the PC to keep everything in one launcher; a grid or list view; and details for each download, such as speed and active downloads. Epic also includes a shopping cart, which it jokingly presents as "advanced digital commerce technology".
The company gives a figure of its own: the launcher takes an average of 5.47 seconds to open from scratch, which by its numbers is 46% faster than Steam.
The change had been flagged. In February, Steve Allison, then vice president and general manager of the store, admitted in remarks to Eurogamer, as reported by Videogames Chronicle, that the launcher "sucks" and was slow. In June, at Unreal Fest, Epic promised a version 2 that would start five times faster on average, without mentioning AI at the time.
The preview can already be downloaded on Windows, Mac and Linux, and Epic adds that it is preparing a Linux version of Fortnite. As Siliconera points out, the announcement does not explain what security checks apply to code written by AI, nor whether the new launcher will become mandatory at some point.
Why it matters · analysis and opinion
Coming from Epic, it carries more weight than if a startup said it: this is the home of one of the most widely used game engines in the industry, and it presents an app that handles accounts, payments and downloads as the product of vibe coding. The joking tone of the announcement leaves the serious question unanswered, one the specialist press has already raised: who reviews that code and what security checks apply when an AI writes it. Epic has not explained that, nor said when it will replace the current launcher. For anyone who builds software, the case is a reference point, but from a preview; the real test will come when it is the version everyone uses every day. Until then, the sensible approach with tools like this is to try them, measure them and not assume that faster means just as reliable.
Source: Videogames Chronicle · Written with the help of AI: how we make the news
