Annoyed by Epic’s slow app? A much faster launcher with new options is coming

A response to long-standing user criticism

Gamer frustrations with the Epic Games Launcher’s slow and clunky interface have become almost commonplace in the PC gaming world, often overshadowing the otherwise popular free games of the week offering. That the problem is not only the perception of the community, was also confirmed by the vice president of the Epic Games Store, Steven Allison, who earlier this year bluntly admitted to Eurogamer that the current movementč “terrible”. The company openly admitted at the recent Unreal Fest that “every developer in this room and every one of our games has experienced challenges,” making it clear that they are aware of the depth of the problem. Many gamers have even found alternative ways to access their games downloaded from Epic, using other platforms like Steam just to avoid problems with the original launcher.

As a concrete response to these problems, Epic presented ambitious plans for a “reconstruction from the ground up”. The main focus was on speed, which was the biggest problem. According to announcements, Launcher V2 should start five times faster from the so-called cold start, while returning from the system tray (system tray) 6.5 times faster, which should eliminate the long wait at each start. The overall plan for the introduction of new products will take place gradually within a 12-month period. The first phase, which is moreć ongoing, includes a private beta version of the new movement and a restructuring of the back-end architecture, followed by a public release. Although the exact dates have not yet been announced, Epic hinted back in February that the first improvements can be expected “this summer”.

New features for a more modern and social experience

Improving speed is only part of the story. Epic plans to introduce a whole range of functionalities that have become standard on other platforms, and which have been painfully missing from the Epic Games Store. The goal is to enrich the user experience and create a platform that can retain users even after they download their free games, encouraging them to spend more time on it.

Among the announced priorities are patch notes visible within the store itself, which will enable players to easily follow all news and changes in their favorite titles. Game reviews are also introduced, which is a key element for building trust and community, and enables users to make more informed purchasing decisions. The user interface will also experience changes, with a personalized home page and quick access categories that should make it much easier to find your way around and discover new content. In addition, universal support for controllers has been announced, which will improve the gaming experience for those who prefer a gamepad.

Strategic turn and technical background

This major upgrade represents a direct effort by Epic Games to compete more seriously with Valve’s Steam. Although Epic attracted a huge number of users with free games and exclusives, reaching 78 million active monthly users on computers, the quality of the platform itself often lagged behind, which rejected some of the games.

One of the key technical details, which explains many of the previous problems, is that the new drives are it will no longer be based on Unreal Engine. It was this software platform, although powerful for creating games, that was probably one of the main causes of poor performance and excessive use of system resources for an application that should only be launched. Along with technical improvements, numerous social features are also planned which are key to the success of Steam. This includes the introduction of user profiles with avatars, private messages and game-independent voice chat, which should encourage interaction between games.