Epic Previews Faster Ai-assisted Games Launcher With Linux Support
Epic’s redesigned launcher is available in preview on Windows, Mac and Linux, as the company expands its use of AI-assisted development.
Epic Games has previewed a redesigned games launcher that it says is faster and more responsive than its current app. Available on Windows, Mac and Linux, the new version was built with AI assistance—an approach Epic described as “vibe coded” in its announcement. The preview arrives as the company is publicly expanding its use of AI in development.
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What the preview changes
According to The Verge, the new Epic Games Launcher became available in preview on October 14, while the existing version remains available. Epic has not set a date for moving everyone to the redesign. Martin Keely, Epic’s vice president and general manager of the Epic Games Store and Epic Online Services, told The Verge that a full launch will depend on the new version being stable and matching the current launcher where needed.
Linux support is new for Epic’s launcher. The Verge reports that Epic also plans to bring Fortnite to Linux through the app. Engadget says the redesigned launcher can show games installed on a computer through Steam, allowing users to access them from Epic’s interface. Engadget’s reviewer found the preview less cumbersome than the previous version, though the outlet argued that the redesign does not yet give Epic’s store a distinctive feature compared with Steam or GOG. Epic claims the new launcher can start faster than Steam, according to Engadget.
How Epic used AI
Keely told The Verge that AI helped the team test the launcher and reproduce core functions from the existing version. He said AI agents wrote and reviewed code, but developers managed and supervised the work. The team has worked on the redesign for most of this year, he said.
That distinction matters because The Verge also cited a Bloomberg report saying that a director on an unannounced Epic Disney project had told staff there would be no more hand-written code. Keely said the launcher team had not adopted that model, even though its work fits the company’s broader direction. CEO Tim Sweeney has said Epic is moving developers around to prepare for greater AI use, with the goal of helping teams build more and better work rather than doing the same work with fewer people.
The workforce context
Epic’s messaging comes after layoffs in March. The Verge reports that the company cut more than 1,000 staffers; Engadget describes the figure as 1,000. Sweeney said in a staff memo cited by The Verge that the layoffs were not related to AI.
Engadget criticized Epic’s upbeat “vibe coded” announcement in light of those cuts, saying it risked overlooking the work of the company’s remaining engineers. Epic, through Keely’s account to The Verge, presents the launcher instead as an example of AI speeding up development under human supervision. The reports do not establish whether the redesign or Epic’s wider AI shift will change future hiring.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.