Epic calls its launcher “crap” and outlines speed rebuild, forums, and social tools
Are you one of those gamers who only open Epic Games when a free game shows up? I am. Two-factor authentication can feel like the slowest part, so for me a weekly claim sometimes turns into a skip. At the same time my PC has Steam running, but never Epic Games Launcher in the background.
Apparently gamers are not the only people complaining about the launcher. Epic is now using the same blunt language players use, with store boss Steve Allison calling the launcher “crap” in recent interviews.
“We got a lot of stuff out the door last year, and this year is going to be probably the best year for that stuff on the ‘big rocks’. And the big rocks are: the launcher sucks. Let’s call it what it is. It’s really slow. […] It should start to feel good, be faster and people be like, ‘ Holy shit. It doesn’t suck so much.’ And that will be a win for us.”
— Steven Allison, Epic Games Store VP and GM
Epic says the Epic Games Launcher is getting rebuilt “under the hood” to make the storefront faster and more responsive. Epic says the mid-year update involves ripping out the guts of the launcher, with a focus on things like faster library loads and reduced overhead.
The company also wants the store to feel less like a checkout page and more like a place to talk. Plans include “community spaces,” player profiles, avatars, and private messaging, plus voice chat and game-independent parties. That’s one of the things missing from a proper Steam compeitor. Forums are part of the plan too, they are already testing them for “top games” on the store later in 2026.
We’re in the process of rebuilding the underlying architecture of the Epic Games Store Launcher and plan to ship improvements this summer. These changes will make the storefront on the launcher responsive and feel good to use, with fast load times and greater stability.
To create a better social experience for players, we’re creating community spaces in the Epic Games Store and enhancing cross-platform text chat with features like avatars, player profiles, and private messaging. These social capabilities will be extended to Epic Online Services, opening up text chat for other developers to include in their games later this year. In Q2, we will add voice chat and game-independent parties to our social framework.
— Epic Games
Epic says a cross-platform library across PC and mobile arrives in the fall, alongside regional storefronts. The mobile store is set to expand on iOS in Japan in March and Brazil in June, and mobile library management is planned for Q2.
The company reiterates that the free games strategy is not going away. Epic says players claimed 662 million free titles in 2025, which is estimated to be worth around $20$30 million per year.
Epic says the updates for the software are to be expected around May or June.
Source: Eurogamer
