Epic Games has released a preview version of its revamped Epic Games Launcher, a significant overhaul aiming to improve performance and user experience. This new iteration, built from the ground up with a completely new tech stack, promises substantial speed increases over its predecessor and competition.
According to Epic, the launcher boots from a cold start in 5.47 seconds, a claim that positions it 46% faster than Steam. Reopening the application from the system tray reportedly takes only 0.36 seconds, which is 14% faster than Steam. Internally, Epic states that the library now loads 30 times faster, and the application's startup time is twice as fast. The new launcher also maintains a small footprint, measuring 300mb, to accommodate a wide range of hardware.
Expanded Platform Support
Beyond performance enhancements, the new launcher introduces broader platform compatibility. It will now support Windows, macOS, and for the first time, Linux. This expansion means that Fortnite will eventually be available on Linux, contingent on Epic rebuilding its Easy Anti-Cheat system for the platform. Epic plans to bring Fortnite to Linux through the Epic Games Launcher once it has support from a critical mass of distribution maintainers.
Quality of Life Improvements and Future Plans
The preview version includes several quality-of-life improvements, such as enhanced customization options. The top bar can be reordered to the user's preference, and the library can be filtered using various categories. Epic also has plans to further improve game discovery, aiming to make recommendations more relevant to individual players and to enhance the social aspects of sharing and discovering games.
The company had previously outlined its roadmap for a new launcher, anticipating up to five times faster boot times. While speed is a primary focus for this initial preview release, the long-term success of the new launcher may depend on its ability to compete with established platforms like Steam, a challenge Epic has faced previously.