Epic throws shade at Steam, admits to vibe-coding the new Epic Games Launcher with AI "to be faster than the other guy"

Epic Games is leveraging AI to speed up its new Epic Games Launcher, which aims to challenge Steam's dominance in the PC gaming market. The company's latest version of the launcher was developed using generative AI, allowing a small team to rewrite the code base and launch it more quickly. Epic's vice president and general manager, Martin Keely, acknowledged the buzz around AI usage, stating it has made the development process more efficient.

The AI-first development approach is not limited to the Epic Games Launcher; it may also extend to Unreal Engine, the widely-used game development tool. While Epic admits there may be bugs in the new launcher, the company encourages users to report any issues via the "Send Feedback" button. This strategic move comes after a Bloomberg report suggested Epic Games is fully embracing an AI-first development pipeline, even for projects like a Marvel and Star Wars shooter.