Epic Games' new PC launcher was built with AI assistance and adds Linux support

Epic Games, the game developer that runs the Epic Games Store, has released a preview of a refreshed PC games launcher. The company says the new version is considerably faster and, for the first time, runs on Linux as well as Windows and Mac. Epic openly describes the app as “vibe coded,” meaning it was built with heavy use of AI programming tools.

The old version remains available. There is no set date by which everyone must switch to the new one. Epic plans a full launch once the update feels “stable” and matches the current launcher's functionality. Alongside the Linux version, Epic announced it intends to bring Fortnite to Linux through the app.

How it was built

Martin Keely, Epic's vice president and general manager of the Epic Games Store and Epic Online Services, told The Verge that AI was used as a tool. He said it was especially helpful for testing and for replicating the core functionality of the existing launcher, and that it let Epic offer a Linux version. The work took place over most of this year. According to Keely, AI agents wrote and reviewed all of the code, but the development team managed and supervised the process.

A wider shift at the company

On Monday, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced a “huge pivot,” with developers being moved around to retool the company for maximum AI use. He said the goal is not to do the same work with fewer people, but to let staff build more and better products, including for all teams using the Unreal game engine. Bloomberg reported that an Epic director working on an unannounced Disney game told staff there would be “No more hand-written code.” The launcher team has not adopted that model, but Keely says its approach is “on the same train.”

In March, Epic laid off more than 1,000 employees. In a memo to staff at the time, Sweeney said the layoffs were not related to AI.