AI was "used as a tool as part of [its] development process" to "allow a small team to rewrite the code base and be able to launch it faster across platforms"
Epic Games has released a beta version of its new launcher, claiming it is 46% faster than Steam from cold start to the store page.
The launcher, currently available in preview mode, is also reportedly 14% faster than its competitor when restoring from system tray to library.
"The library loads 30 times faster [than in the previous launcher]," Martin Keely, vice president and general manager of Epic Games Store, told IGN. "The startup is twice as fast. And it's a small footprint, only 300mb. That was another thing that we wanted to continue to make as small as possible to support the wide range of hardware that players have."
"It's been rebuilt entirely from the ground up," Keely continued. "So this is a completely new tech stack, a complete new rewrite of both the shell, which has the download manager, library, and the app itself, as well as the new store architecture. So features like discover and product detail pages, those have all been rewritten."
In a blog post, Epic stated that the rebuilt launcher is "vibe coded," a term referring to coding with AI.
When asked how much the launcher was built with AI, Keely told IGN that AI was "used as a tool as part of [its] development process."
"It's obviously an issue that's of high visibility at the moment across the industry, but for us, it made us more efficient and allowed a small team to rewrite the code base and be able to launch it faster across platforms, support Windows and Mac, and we're going to have a Linux version as well."
Keely added: "It's been focused on code efficiency and the architecture, and allowing us to basically build features more quickly. It hasn't been about the artwork or the design style. There are some updates and changes, but that's been managed by our normal Epic Games design group."
Epic's use of AI in developing the new launcher follows reports that the company is shifting to an "AI-first" production model.
As a result, Epic has delayed its upcoming Disney collaboration, a shooter featuring characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises.
In an internal message seen by Bloomberg, one of the game's directors told staff: "No more hand-written code." The director also said all of the game's art would be "generated with full AI workflows."
Epic communications director Jake Jones stated that the firm is "embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do."
On social media, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney wrote: "We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration."
"The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal."