Epic Games asserts that its new "vibe coded" launcher boasts a 46% faster performance than Steam when accessing the store page from a cold start

Epic Games has unveiled a trial version of their revamped launcher, which the company asserts is significantly faster than Steam, reducing the time from a cold start to accessing the store page by 46%.

This launcher, now in preview, also reportedly surpasses its competitor by 14% when transitioned from the system tray to the library display.

Martin Keely, Vice President and General Manager at Epic Games Store, shared with IGN that the library's loading speed is now 30 times more efficient compared to the previous version. He noted, "The startup is twice as fast. And it's a small footprint, only 300mb. That was another thing that we wanted to continue to make as small as possible to support the wide range of hardware that players have."

Keely explained further: "It's been rebuilt entirely from the ground up... 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 mentioned in a blog post that AI-assisted coding, referred to as "vibe coding," was utilized in the development of the new launcher.

When questioned about the extent of AI use, Keely revealed to IGN that AI served as an instrumental tool in their development process.

"It's obviously an issue that's of high visibility at the moment across the industry, but for us, it 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," he elaborated.

Discussing its AI approach, Keely stated the focus was on improving code efficiency and architecture, which allowed quicker development of features. "It hasn't been about the artwork or the design style. There are some updates and changes, but that's been managed by our normal Epic Games design group," he added.

Epic's adoption of AI in developing the launcher follows reports that suggest the company is moving towards an "AI-first" production model.

This shift has led to a delay in their forthcoming Disney-themed shooter game, which involves Marvel and Star Wars characters.

An insider message reviewed by Bloomberg disclosed that one of the game directors instructed the team to cease hand-written code. It was also mentioned that the game's art would use "full AI workflows."

Epic's Communications Director, Jake Jones, commented that the company is "embracing AI-accelerated development," led by their developers, who spearhead creative and visionary efforts.

Additionally, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared on social media that the company is undergoing a significant shift to optimize for 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," Sweeney conveyed.