How to Make Games Download Faster From Epic Games Launcher

Waiting for a large game to download can feel like watching paint dry — especially when you know it's taking longer than your internet connection should allow. The good news is that Epic Games Launcher has several settings that directly affect download speed, and your local setup plays just as big a role as your internet plan.

Here's what's actually happening under the hood, and which variables matter most.

Why Epic Games Downloads Feel Slow

Epic Games Launcher doesn't always use your full available bandwidth by default. It throttles downloads to avoid impacting your other internet activity — a reasonable choice for background installs, but frustrating when you want a game downloaded now.

Beyond throttling, download speed is shaped by:

• Your internet connection type and speed (fiber, cable, DSL, mobile hotspot)
• Wi-Fi vs. wired connection
• Server load on Epic's CDN (Content Delivery Network)
• Background processes consuming bandwidth
• Your storage drive's write speed
• DNS server performance

Fixing one of these without addressing the others will only get you so far.

Step 1: Remove the Download Speed Limit in Epic Launcher ⚡

This is the most common culprit and the easiest fix.

1. Open Epic Games Launcher
2. Click the profile icon (top right) → Settings
3. Scroll down to the Downloads section
4. Check whether "Throttle Downloads" is enabled — if it is, disable it
5. If you see a maximum download speed field, clear it or set it to 0 (which means unlimited)

By default, some installations have a cap applied. Removing it lets the launcher pull data as fast as your connection allows.

Step 2: Prioritize Epic Launcher in Task Manager (Windows)

Even with throttling off, other running applications compete for bandwidth and CPU resources.

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
2. Go to the Details tab
3. Find EpicGamesLauncher.exe
4. Right-click → Set Priority → High

This tells Windows to give the launcher more processing priority during the download. It won't boost your internet speed directly, but it reduces delays caused by competing processes.

Step 3: Switch to a Wired Connection

Wi-Fi introduces latency and packet loss that a wired Ethernet connection avoids entirely. Even a mid-range router in the same room can cause speed inconsistencies due to signal interference, congestion on the 2.4GHz band, or competing devices.

If you're on Wi-Fi and your download speeds are inconsistent, plugging in directly to your router with an Ethernet cable is one of the highest-impact changes you can make — no software required.

Step 4: Close Bandwidth-Heavy Background Apps

Streaming services, cloud backup tools, browser tabs with video, and other game launchers (Steam, Xbox, etc.) all consume bandwidth simultaneously. During a large download, it's worth:

• Pausing cloud sync services (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox)
• Closing streaming apps or browser tabs
• Temporarily disabling automatic updates in other launchers

The goal is giving Epic's download as much of your available bandwidth as possible.

Step 5: Change Your DNS Server 🌐

Your DNS (Domain Name System) server translates domain names to IP addresses. A slow or overloaded DNS can add latency to every connection your system makes, including to Epic's CDN servers.

Switching to a faster public DNS — such as Google's 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 — is a low-effort change that sometimes improves download consistency, especially if your ISP's default DNS is sluggish.

To change DNS on Windows:

1. Open Network Settings → Change adapter options
2. Right-click your active connection → Properties
3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties
4. Enter your preferred DNS values manually

Step 6: Check Your Storage Drive's Write Speed

This one surprises people: if your drive can't write data fast enough, downloads will appear to stall even when the network is fine. This is especially relevant for:

• Older HDDs with slower rotational speeds
• Nearly full drives (HDDs and SSDs both slow down when near capacity)
• Installing over USB or external drives

SSDs — particularly NVMe drives — write data significantly faster than traditional HDDs. If you're downloading to an HDD that's fragmented or close to full, clearing space or switching the install location to a faster drive can make a real difference.

Step 7: Try Downloading at Off-Peak Hours

Epic's CDN servers experience heavier load during evenings and weekends when more players are online simultaneously. Download speeds are often noticeably faster during off-peak hours — early mornings or weekday afternoons — simply because fewer people are pulling from the same servers.

This isn't something you can change on your end, but timing your downloads strategically costs nothing.

Variables That Determine How Much Improvement You'll See

Each of these factors interacts with the others. Someone on a gigabit fiber connection downloading to an NVMe SSD will see very different results than someone on cable internet downloading to a fragmented HDD over Wi-Fi — even if both apply exactly the same launcher settings.

The right combination of fixes depends on which of these variables are actually limiting your specific setup right now.