Valve Sneaks In Steam Update, Beats Epic's 'Faster' Launcher Claim by a Day

Did you catch the launcher drama this week? Epic Games just rolled out a massive overhaul of its launcher, built with generative AI, and boldly claimed it's now "faster than the other guy"—meaning Valve's Steam. They even told us to "test it out" if we didn't believe them. Well, we did, and things didn't go as Epic hoped.

Here's the kicker: Valve dropped a Steam update just one day before Epic's big claim. Tucked into the patch notes was a simple line: "Improved Steam Client startup performance." That's it. No fanfare, no trash talk—just a quiet improvement that made Steam boot up noticeably quicker. Talk about timing.

A user on X recorded their screen to prove it, writing, "they didn't even take 24 hours to eat them alive." The clip shows Steam opening in five seconds—a full five seconds faster than Epic claimed its own launcher takes. Ouch. And it wasn't just one person. Another user tested it too, declaring, "Epic's claim is WRONG," and confirming Steam launches in five seconds. Even our own quick test backed it up: Steam was snappier, Epic wasn't.

So why does this matter? Epic's new launcher is part of a "huge pivot" toward "maximum AI acceleration," and the company is clearly proud of it. But when you call out the competition, you'd better be sure you can back it up. Valve didn't even try to compete—they just quietly made Steam better, and the internet did the rest. It's a classic case of actions speaking louder than words.

But hey, let's not reduce Valve's update to just a dunk on Epic. The patch also brought gorgeous Big Picture Mode changes, layout improvements, and tweaks to the in-game overlay. It's a hefty update that deserves its own spotlight, even if the Epic comparison is undeniably funny. And apparently, valid.

Meanwhile, Epic is dealing with its own headaches—reports suggest a Disney shooter was delayed due to the controversial AI tech. So while Epic talks a big game, Valve just keeps quietly improving. Which launcher do you actually use? Will you be testing the speed yourself? Let us know in the comments!