Epic Games introduces new launcher

Epic Games released a pre-release version of its new game launcher on October 14, developed with artificial intelligence. The launcher is used to purchase, download, and launch games on PC.

Epic claims faster startup time

Epic stated that its launcher starts from cold in 5.47 seconds, which is faster than Steam's 10.07 seconds. A cold start happens when the software is not already open in the background.

Steam update shows faster time

Steam received an update on October 13 intended to speed up its startup. After installing it, a user named "girlglock" timed Steam at 5.23 seconds and shared the result on X.

Different testing methods used

Epic's 5.47-second figure comes from tests by Keywords Studios, a company Epic paid. Steam's 5.23-second time was measured on a single PC with unknown specifications, and no one has tested Epic's launcher on that machine.

Valve remains silent on improvements

Valve, which runs Steam, does not provide specific performance figures. Its update notes only mention that the client's startup has been improved, without giving any numbers.

Steam update includes user interface change

The Steam update also prevents the Steam window from returning to the foreground when another application is opened during loading. This change has been interpreted by some as a response to Epic's announcement, though the update was released before Epic's launch.