The Steam launcher update landed 1 day before Epic Games claimed its new launcher is faster than Steam. Valve released the client patch on October 13. Epic announced its launcher preview on October 14 and shared a chart showing 5.47 seconds for its app against 10.07 seconds for Steam. After the patch, users report Steam opening in about 5 seconds.
Below, we break down the timings and what each company said. We also cover the other changes in the Steam patch.
Steam Launcher Update Details and Release Date
Valve published the Steam client update with patch notes dated October 13. The notes list “Improved Steam Client startup performance.” In plain terms, Steam now opens faster than it did before.
Epic posted about its new launcher on October 14. The post read: “We vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher to be faster than the other guy.” Epic also told players to test the claim themselves in the preview.
Some reports frame the Steam patch as a reply to Epic. The patch notes carry the October 13 date, which is before Epic’s post.
A clip shared on X shows Steam opening in 5 seconds. A Steam startup time of 5.23 seconds after the update, compared with Epic’s 5.47 seconds.
Epic Games Launcher Speed Claims
Epic’s chart lists a cold start to the store at 5.47 seconds for its launcher. It lists 10.07 seconds for Steam. Epic calls that 1.8x faster, or 46% faster.
The chart has other figures too. The library loads in 0.36 seconds on Epic against 0.42 seconds on Steam. Epic says its store opens 3x faster. It also says the launcher restores from the system tray to the library 0.06 seconds faster than Steam.
Reports say Epic commissioned the testing, and Epic acknowledged that results will vary. Epic also said the preview will have some bugs and asked players to report them.
Steam vs Epic Games Launcher Startup Times
| Test | Epic launcher | Steam (Epic’s chart) |
|---|---|---|
| Cold start to store | 5.47 seconds | 10.07 seconds |
| Library load | 0.36 seconds | 0.42 seconds |
| Store opening | 3x faster | Not listed |
Those are Epic’s numbers. They put Steam at about 5 seconds, close to Epic’s 5.47 seconds.
Other Changes in the Steam Update
The Steam client update adds more than startup work. The patch notes list these changes:
- A new “Big Art Mode” option for the home screen, found in Settings > Home
- A Personal Calendar on the Recommended tab
- A screensaver for Big Picture Mode, found in Settings > Customization
According to reports, changes are introduced to the Big Picture Mode layout and the in-game overlay along with bug fixes.
Epic Games Launcher Preview and Background
Epic’s launcher preview became available on October 14 for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Epic Games executive Martin Keely said that AI helped recreate existing launcher functions and handle testing. He said that AI let a small team rewrite the codebase and launch faster across platforms.
The speed push follows earlier comments. In February, Epic Games Store boss Steve Allison said that the old launcher “sucks.” At Unreal Fest in June, Epic promised cold starts 5x faster than the old launcher.
