“Clunky” Epic Games Launcher is getting a “Ground-up rebuild” that promises to be at least 5x faster

While the Epic Games Store has continued to grow over the years thanks to free games, major releases, and exclusive titles, many users have criticized the launcher itself for being slow and frustrating to navigate. In fact, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney even admitted last year that the launcher is “clunky”. And now, Epic Games is finally taking these complaints seriously.

During Unreal Fest, happening in Chicago this week, Epic shared its plans for the future of the Epic Games Store and confirmed that a major overhaul of the launcher is currently in development. The company is rebuilding the software from the ground up, with one of the biggest goals being a major boost in performance.

Epic Games Store roadmap revealed, including new launcher

Based on internal testing, Epic Games Launcher V2 will offer a cold start time that is on average 5x faster than the current version. That is a significant improvement and could address one of the most common frustrations players have experienced over the years. Restoring from the system tray is also said to be 6.5x faster on average.

Earlier this year, Epic Games Store Vice President and General Manager Steven Allison admitted that the launcher was not delivering the experience players expected. He explained that the current system relies heavily on backend service calls whenever users move between different sections, which can result in noticeable delays depending on internet connection quality.

The new launcher aims to solve these issues by replacing much of the underlying architecture rather than simply applying small fixes. Epic says the V2 Private Beta is “Up First” on its roadmap, while the V2 Public Release is “Up Next” – no actual timeframes were provided in the presentation.

The overhaul is part of a broader roadmap for the Epic Games Store. In the near future, Epic plans to launch a private beta for Launcher V2 alongside improvements to the storefront itself. Other upcoming features include in-store patch notes, cross-region gifting, and chunked installation support for Fortnite, which should make managing the game’s large downloads easier.

After that, Epic intends to release Launcher V2 publicly while also introducing several community-focused features. Planned additions include player profiles, avatars, written user reviews, better search functionality, and improvements to the overall store design and user experience.