On October 14, 2026, Epic Games released an open preview of its rewritten Epic Games Store client — the Epic Games Launcher. For the first time in company history, the new client officially supports Linux alongside Windows and macOS. The preview was announced as an open test on Epic Games' official news page and is available for download on all three platforms. This is the first public version of the launcher since its complete rewrite. An open preview is not a final release but an early build for broad testing.
Linux Support — A First for Epic
The new launcher is designed to replace the current legacy Epic Games Store client: it is the main app through which users access their game library and the storefront. For the first time ever, the launcher is shipping in an official Linux version — Epic's first official step toward open-source operating system users. The preview launched alongside the Windows and macOS versions. Epic said the new client's interface and internal architecture were written completely from scratch. The company names speed as the new client's main advantage — and announced that very metric in comparison with a competitor.
'Vibe Coded': AI Wrote the Code, Engineers Supervised
The most discussed part of the announcement is how the new launcher was built. According to the company, generative AI tools wrote and reviewed most of the client code, while Epic engineers supervised the entire process. The term 'vibe coding' means a developer directs code-writing through natural-language instructions: they say what is needed, the AI proposes code, and the human accepts the result or fixes it. In Epic's case, this loop was applied at the scale of a full product — a client application for mass use. In this model, the engineer's role shifts from code authorship toward supervision and direction: AI-proposed solutions are reviewed, corrected, and approved. Epic said it used exactly this control mechanism: AI did most of the code writing and review, while final responsibility stayed with the engineers. Engineer oversight is presented as the main mechanism guaranteeing code quality — AI-written code was not shipped into the product without final approval.
Ars Technica reported that Epic confirmed the new launcher was created via 'vibe coding': generative AI tools wrote and reviewed most of the code, while Epic engineers supervised the process. Source: Ars Technica.
Speed Advantage: 46% Ahead of Steam at Cold Start
Epic names launch speed as the preview's main advantage. According to measurements commissioned by the company from testing firm Keywords Studios, the new launcher opens the storefront in 5.47 seconds from a 'cold start' — that is, on first launch, when the app has not been pre-warmed in memory. Under the same conditions, the main competitor — the Steam client — took 10.07 seconds. The result: Epic's new client is roughly 46% faster at cold start. Both clients were measured under identical test conditions, enabling direct comparison. Cold start is considered the heaviest everyday-use scenario, since in this mode the app loads all its components from scratch — which is why the comparison was run in this mode. Ars Technica noted separately that the figures are based on tests commissioned by Epic: the numbers come from measurements ordered by the company, not from an independent lab.
Fortnite Is Coming to Linux, but Features Are Still Thin
Another part of the announcement concerns Linux gamers: Epic said it plans to release a Linux version of its popular game Fortnite through the new launcher. To do that, the company must first rewrite the Easy Anti-Cheat system, which fights cheating in games — the system prevents cheating in multiplayer games, and rewriting it is described as a prerequisite for stable Fortnite performance on Linux. At the same time, Epic openly admitted the preview has fewer features than the old client: this is still an early testing stage — the preview is limited in features and not aimed at a wide audience in this state. The company announced the limitations without hiding them — a natural state for an open-preview format.
Previously on Epic Games: Epic Games delays Disney collaboration shooter.
