Epic Games opened a public preview of its rebuilt Epic Games Launcher on October 14, 2026. The new client runs on Windows, on macOS with Apple Silicon and, for the first time, natively on Linux. Epic also confirmed that Fortnite is coming to Linux, although without a date.
Which systems it supports
On Linux, Epic officially supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or newer, Fedora 43 or newer and Debian 12 or newer. Other distributions may work, but Epic will not test or support them. The launcher itself is native, but most games in the store are Windows builds, so it downloads a compatibility runtime based on GE-Proton the first time it runs one, according to GamingOnLinux.
A launcher written with AI
Epic’s announcement opens by saying it vibe coded the new launcher, the informal term for building software mainly by directing AI tools. Wccftech reports that Tim Sweeney has described a huge pivot inside the company to work with maximum AI acceleration.
Epic also makes speed claims. In tests it commissioned from Keywords Studios in October on 13 machines:
- Cold start: 5.47 seconds, against 10.07 seconds for Steam
- The store opens three times faster than in the current launcher
- The library loads up to 30 times faster
The preview is not complete. Some social features and account management options are missing, and Epic recommends that competitive Fortnite and Rocket League players, as well as developers working on live projects, stay on the current launcher for now.
When Fortnite comes to Linux
Fortnite was held back on Linux by anti-cheat. Epic is rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat for the platform as EAC Linux v2, which relies on features such as a signed kernel, signed kernel modules and Secure Boot with attestation. Fortnite will be the first game to use it, once enough distribution maintainers support those requirements; other developers will get access later.
Steam Deck does not currently support the features EAC Linux v2 needs. Epic says it is talking to Valve, but there is no timeline.
This article was written with AI assistance from the sources linked above.
