“We used AI as a tool for this.”
Archived version: https://archive.is/20261014140009/https://www.theverge.com/games/1010751/epic-games-launcher-vibe-coded-ai-linux
Just when I thought my opinion of Epic and Tim Sweeney couldn’t get any lower…
Programming is hard, So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher
Programming is hard
Isn’t that, like … their entire job, though?
Imagine if a firefighter said, “Fighting fires is hard, so instead of doing that, we’re just going to hope that the building’s sprinkler system will handle it.”
Reminds me of this anecdote: "A guy takes up the job of a firefighter. In a month he recounts to his friend:
- The job’s good, excellent pay, great people. But every time we are called to a fire I feel like resigning"
Not only that, they claim it’s better than the one they made themselves, which is a weird flex.
Good think they’ve been making nothing but garbage lately. So much easier to dismiss them entirely.
Great, so now when it goes to uninstall a game it’ll just uninstall your entire system!
This reminds me:
Back in 2003, there was a demo version of the game Chicago 1930 (from Spellbound, better known for much better games like Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood and the Desperados series). Its uninstaller not only deleted the files belonging to this demo, but also the content of the entire Program Files directory, which I noticed way too late in the process.
The vibe slopping will continue until reputation improves?
At least most vibecoders have some shame. Timmy is deeply invested in AI and screams it from the rooftops in the hopes of convincing others that its valuable.
All the more reason to pirate their shit, so you don’t need to run their launcher.
