Epic Games released a preview of its rebuilt Epic Games Launcher on October 14 for Windows, macOS and, for the first time, Linux, and it said openly that the new app was “vibe coded” with AI. In the same announcement, Epic confirmed that Fortnite is coming to Linux once a rebuilt version of its Easy Anti-Cheat software is ready. Neither has a release date.
Here is what Epic actually said, how outlets framed it, and what changes for players.
Table of Contents
What Epic said about the vibe-coded launcher
Epic’s announcement post opens with a joke: “Programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look.” It also calls the first release “light on features,” describing it as “a speedboat and not a yacht.”
Martin Keely, Epic’s VP and general manager of the Epic Games Store, gave more detail in a briefing with The Verge: “We definitely had agents write and review all of the code,” he said, but the development team “managed that process” and “supervised the entirety of what we did.” Speaking to IGN (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz), he said AI let “a small team” rewrite the code base and ship across platforms faster, and that it was not used for “the artwork or the design style,” which Epic’s regular design group handled.
The launch follows CEO Tim Sweeney’s October 12 post that Epic has “a huge pivot underway” to “retool for maximum AI acceleration,” adding that the aim isn’t “to do the same stuff with fewer people.”
How outlets characterized it
Coverage has been sharply critical in tone. Rock Paper Shotgun mocked the “programming is hard” line and the jabs at Steam, Kotaku highlighted the online backlash, and Destructoid described the store as built entirely by AI agents, a stronger claim than Epic’s own account of supervised agents. Several reports also connected the launcher to a Bloomberg report that a director on Epic’s delayed Disney project told staff there would be “no more hand-written code.” Keely told The Verge the launcher team had not adopted that model, though he said its work was “on the same train” as Epic’s wider AI push.
Epic's own comparison: 5.47 vs 10.07 seconds from cold start to store, from testing it commissioned from Keywords Studios. Image: Epic Games
What’s in the new Epic Games Launcher
According to Epic’s preview page, the rebuild brings:
- One frame for Store, Library and Develop, plus a customizable top bar
- A redesigned library with Details and Grid views, search as you type, visual collections and hidden games
- Game pages with play controls, add-ons and update status
- A downloads view with queued, scheduled and failed downloads and live speeds
- Parties and chat inside the launcher
Epic’s speed claims come from testing it commissioned from Keywords Studios: 5.47 seconds from a cold start to the store versus 10.07 seconds for Steam, and 0.36 versus 0.42 seconds to restore the library from the system tray. Valve’s October 13 Steam client update lists “improved Steam Client startup performance,” so real-world gaps may differ.
How to try it: download the preview from launcher.epicgames.com. Epic’s FAQ says installing it automatically uninstalls the legacy launcher, but purchases, installed games, cloud saves and progress carry over. On Mac it supports Apple Silicon only; on Linux, Epic officially supports Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 43+ and Debian 12+. Some social and account-management features are still missing, and Keely said the full launch comes when the app is stable and reaches feature parity.
Fortnite on Linux: what Epic confirmed
Fortnite isn’t playable on Linux today, which Epic puts down to cheating concerns. In a separate post, Epic said it is rebuilding its anti-cheat as “EAC Linux v2” and will “pilot EAC Linux v2 in Fortnite first,” then offer it to other developers. Instead of a kernel driver, it relies on Linux security features: a signed kernel, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, measured boot, IOMMU, kernel lockdown, disabled kexec and the BPF security module, plus a service that runs only while a protected game is open.
EAC Linux v2 will be piloted in Fortnite before other games can use it. Image: Epic Games
Two caveats for players: there is no timeline, according to Epic engineering director Rick Deist in the Verge briefing, and Steam Deck is out for now. “The Steam Deck does not support the required features for our EAC v2 solution, but we are actively talking with Valve and hope to support it in the future,” Epic says. Keely added that Fortnite is not coming to the Steam store.
What’s next
Epic promises more features during the preview, and it plans a panel with Fedora Project Leader Jef Spaleta later this year on fair competitive gaming on Linux. See also this week’s Epic free games and our Fortnite Sprites checklist.
Sources: Epic Games Launcher preview, Epic Online Services, Tim Sweeney on X, The Verge, GamesIndustry.biz, Dexerto.
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Featured image: Epic Games
