Ex-Valve author about Epic boss: “Little Tim is obsessed with Gabe”
Epic Games has announced a new version of its launcher built using AI. Instead of enthusiasm, the company received harsh criticism. A former Valve author accuses the Epic boss of an obsession with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell.
A swipe at the Steam boss
Epic Games recently announced a revamp of its launcher for its in-house store. The company explained that “programming is hard” and that they instead created the software using generative artificial intelligence through vibe coding. According to Epic itself, this first version is still lacking in functions and is more like a speedboat than a yacht, but this choice of words is met with criticism from some players and developers. Chet Faliszek, a former Valve writer who worked on titles like Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead, said he was stunned by the communication. He interprets the yacht comparison as a targeted attack on Valve co-founder Gabe Newell and his yacht collection. “Little Tim is so obsessed with Gabe” that he absolutely has to throw in a cheap dig, says Faliszek.
We’re in the second paragraph of their announcement, and little Tim is so obsessed with Gabe that he has to try and give Gabe a cheap swipe. Chet Faliszek
According to the ex-Valve author in a video, the allusion is no coincidence, as Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has repeatedly spoken about Newell’s yachts in the past. Sweeney had previously blamed supply bottlenecks for megayachts for the increased prices of the Steam Deck handheld PC. Faliszek notes that many capable communications people he knew at Epic Games are no longer there. He jokes that they left because little Timmy insists on taking swipes at Newell so often.
Criticism of sterile platform
Aside from the personal jibes, Faliszek criticizes the new launcher on a technical level. The fact that the application now loads faster and has a new look is no real reason to be happy if at the same time basic functions are missing. According to Newell, while Valve has created a kind of massively multiplayer online game with Steam in which players can express themselves and level up, the Epic Games store still seems sterile.
According to Faliszek, the Epic Games Store lacks a clear goal. The announcement advertises download monitoring, faster game searches and customization options, but is not about anything in terms of community. Faliszek points out that Epic Games originally primarily offered a developer engine to which video games were only loosely attached. Focusing development primarily on vibe coding is a bizarre step, as it doesn’t offer any added value to users who just want to play video games and interact with others, says Faliszek. A faster loading time without full functions is also not a real success.
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