Epic Games has released a Preview version of its completely redesigned Epic Games Launcher, promising a much faster and more responsive experience than the current app. The new Launcher is available to test now on Windows and macOS, while Linux users can also try it for the first time.

Speed appears to be one of Epic’s biggest priorities with the redesign. According to the company’s own testing, the new Epic Games Launcher takes 5.47 seconds to go from a cold start to the Store, which Epic claims makes it 46% faster than Steam. Restoring the Launcher from the system tray directly to the Library reportedly takes just 0.36 seconds, which the company says is 14% faster than Steam.

Epic also says the new Launcher puts less load on your system while running in the background. Navigation between the Store and Library should feel faster as well, addressing one of the biggest complaints users have had with the existing Launcher.

Performance isn’t the only thing changing. Epic has redesigned the Library so selecting a game opens a dedicated page showing its status, activity, details, and play controls. Users can also connect their PC game libraries to see everything they own together inside the Launcher. The Library can be displayed using grid or list views, while collections can sit alongside your games. Epic is also allowing users to customize the top bar with their favorite games and apps.

Downloads are getting more information too. The new interface lets you monitor download, read, and write speeds, while active, queued, scheduled, and failed downloads can all be viewed from one place. Epic Parties are also supported, allowing users to party up and use voice chat with friends across Fortnite, the Epic Games Store, and Epic’s mobile apps.

However, Epic makes it clear that this is still an early Preview and is currently light on features. The company describes it as more of a “speedboat and not a yacht,” meaning additional features and improvements will arrive as development continues. Since it is effectively a beta, users should also expect to encounter some issues.

Another major development is Linux support. Alongside bringing the Launcher to Linux, Epic confirmed that it is working on bringing Fortnite to Linux as well. The company is rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat and working with Linux distribution maintainers on security requirements. Once support reaches enough distributions, Fortnite will be released on Linux through the Epic Games Launcher.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.