Steam Client is now faster than Epic's new vibe coded launcher

Yesterday, Epic Games announced and launched in preview its new vibe-coded launcher. The main marketing pitch was a jab at Steam’s slow loading speed compared to the new Epic launcher. Well, that didn’t last too long. Only 24 hours after Epic dropped its faster launcher, Steam pushed a small update to make its client faster than Epic.

Client Version	Startup Time (Cold Boot)	Tray Restore Speed	Architecture
Epic Games Launcher V2 (Preview)	~5.47 seconds	~0.36 seconds	AI-Assisted (“Vibe Coded”)
Steam Client (Post-Patch)	~5.23 seconds	~0.42 seconds	Optimized Modular CEF

On basic test systems, Valve’s client boot time dropped to 5.23 seconds, beating Epic’s new launcher and neutralizing its primary performance claim.

While Epic Games Launcher V2 remains, a massive step forward compared to its notoriously sluggish legacy build, Valve demonstrated how quickly it can react to competitive benchmarks. Epic may have “vibe coded” a faster client, but Valve proved that targeted optimization on a decades-old ecosystem can still beat out AI speedruns.

But the issues with Epic’s client go far deeper than vibe coding. Years later, and now with a brand-new client even, Epic lacks basic features that should have been added a long time ago.

• No Discussion forums and community hubs
• No User-written text reviews
• No Community-created guides and walkthroughs
• No Screenshot, clip, and artwork sharing
• No Community groups and curator recommendations
• No Profile customization (badges, showcases, backgrounds)
• No Community marketplace for in-game items
• No Direct player-to-player item trading
• No Digital trading cards, levelling, and points shop
• No Universal controller remapping and gamepad support
• No Big Picture mode for TVs and handheld PCs
• No Remote Play and Remote Play Together
• No Integrated game broadcasting and streaming tools
• No Family library sharing across accounts
• No Platform-wide mod hub (Steam Workshop equivalent)
• No Personalized discovery queues
• No Local network game file transfers
• No Game version rollback options

La tienda de EPIC hecha completamente con inteligencia artificial parece ser un DESASTRE en cuanto a bugs… Quien lo dirIA 💀 pic.twitter.com/tZF244XZ49

— eXtas1s 🎮 Noticias & Rumores (@eXtas1stv) October 14, 2026