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Guides / Epic Games Launcher / Epic Games Launcher: Find the Shortcut That Opens Unreal

Epic Games Launcher: Find the Shortcut That Opens Unreal

This chapter names the launcher you already ship with. The next chapter installs the <strong>October 14, 2026</strong> preview on a different computer. Doing both on one disk removes the shortcut this chapter is trying to keep.

Why this matters now

The <a href="https://launcher.epicgames.com/">preview site</a> says trying the new launcher uninstalls the legacy version on that computer. The <a href="https://store.epicgames.com/news/epic-games-launcher-preview">October 14 store post</a> is the announcement. Before anyone downloads it, you need to know which icon still opens the editor.

<strong>You will do:</strong> find the shipping shortcut and open it once.

<strong>Time:</strong> about <strong>8 minutes</strong>.

Prerequisites

  • The PC that opens Unreal or UEFN for the project you ship
  • No preview installer running

Find the shortcut

  • On the shipping PC, use the desktop, Start menu, or dock icon you already use for Epic.
  • Open it. Sign in if it asks.
  • Confirm this is the legacy launcher: you did not just run a new installer, and the window is the one your team already uses.
  • Close it. Leave the icon where it was.

<strong>Check:</strong> you can point at that icon and say “this one stays.” If you cannot find it, stop. Do not install the preview to “see what Epic looks like.”

Common mistakes

  • Downloading the preview on this PC because the browser was already open.
  • Calling a Steam or itch shortcut the Epic one.
  • Updating the legacy app from a banner in the same sitting. This chapter only identifies the icon.

Where to go next

  • <strong>Preview on the other computer:</strong> <a href="/guides/epic-games-launcher?chapter=epic-games-launcher-preview-library-slot-beside-stable-preflight-2026-preflight">Library slot beside the stable install</a>
  • <strong>What October 14 changed:</strong> <a href="/blog/what-epic-games-launcher-preview-changed-for-indies-2026">Epic Games Launcher preview for indies</a>

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<strong>The shipping shortcut is the stable slot.</strong> Name it before the preview exists on any disk you care about.