{
  "id": 14864795,
  "title": "Valve Pushes An Update That Makes Steam Boot Up Faster Than Epic Games Launcher",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/valve-pushes-an-update-that-makes-steam-boot-up-faster-than-epic",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-16T03:51:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Lowyat.NET",
    "slug": "lowyat-net",
    "url": "https://www.lowyat.net/2026/407577/valve-pushes-an-update-that-makes-steam-boot-up-faster-than-epic-games-launcher/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Valve recently released an update for the Steam client that has significantly reduced the platform's boot-up time. The new version allows the Steam client to go from cold to the main window in just 5.23 seconds, according to a report from dea (@girlglock_) on October 15, 2026. This improvement was made possible by Valve's \"Improved Steam Client startup performance\" change, as stated in the update's change log.\n\nThe significance of this update lies in the fact that it has a faster boot-up time compared to Epic Games Launcher, the rival platform to Valve's Steam. Epic Games Launcher was previously reported to have a cold-boot time of 5.47 seconds, nearly half the downtime of Steam's original 10-second boot-up sequence. Epic Games claimed that its launcher was 14% faster when restoring the launch from the system tray.\n\nValve's move appears to be a direct response to Epic Games' taunting message \"programming is hard\" and the subsequent graphs that backed up their claim. Valve is evidently taking a shot at the Unreal Engine owner and rival. While the sub-5-second boot-up demo of Steam looks authentic, it's important to note that actual boot-up times for the Steam client post-update range between five and seven seconds, depending on the machine being used and its specifications.",
  "summary": "Valve recently pushed out a Steam Client update that significantly improved the platform’s boot-up time. It’s so fast, in fact, it starts up within sub-five seconds. How Is This Important? this is such a good day to be a sweeney hater.. not even 24h later lmao https://t.co/hjf5Q9NV3C pic.twitter.com/XXLcIqYTT7 — dea (@girlglock_) October 15, 2026 As […] The post Valve Pushes An Update That Makes…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Lowyat.NET",
        "title": "Epic Games Vibe-Codes New Launcher; Claims Faster Speeds Than Steam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/epic-games-vibe-codes-new-launcher-claims-faster-speeds-than-steam",
        "published": "2026-10-15T05:22:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PC Gamer",
        "title": "Epic said its game launcher was faster than Steam on the same day Steam got a speed boost—so I've put both to the test",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/epic-said-its-game-launcher-was-faster-than-steam-on-the-same-day",
        "published": "2026-10-15T13:10:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hacker News Best",
        "title": "Steam Client is now faster than Epic's new vibe coded launcher",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/steam-client-is-now-faster-than-epics-new-vibe-coded-launcher",
        "published": "2026-10-15T16:03:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}