一切的开始
因为重新配置了开发环境和文件路径管理，我需要重新安装 EpicGames 启动器。
但是我发现从 Epic 商店官网页面右上角点击下载的 Epic Games Launcher 安装包 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe 或者 EpicInstaller-19.2.3-unrealEngine.exe 会执行静默安装模式——不会运行安装向导以选择安装位置。
我开始寻找原因。
第一次尝试：旧版 EpicGames 启动器安装包
我从 Epic 官网支持页面搜索到了 我无法安装 Epic Games 启动器 - Epic Games商店 支持 ，文章中指向了 无法在 Windows 7、Windows 8 或 32 位 Windows 系统上安装 Epic Games 启动器 - 技术支持 支持 从中获取到安装包 EpicInstaller-18.12.1.msi。
安装包 EpicInstaller-18.12.1.msi 会运行安装向导以选择安装位置，但却会默认导向32位程序的 EpicGames 启动器。使用安装包 EpicInstaller-18.12.1.msi 的安装过程中会更新到最新版，从安装路径 ..\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries 下的 ..\Win64 文件夹内也能够找到64位启动器程序。但是桌面快捷方式和Win11开始菜单内指向的却都是32位的启动器程序。
我相信各位应该知道这意味着什么。
第二次尝试：从.exe 安装包中获取 .msi 安装包
很显然使用旧版启动器安装包并不是我想要的效果。
所以我在运行安装包 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe 时从 C:\ProgramData\EpicInstallerTemp 路径下获取到 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi 安装包。
至此我们知道了官网默认提供下载的 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe 是一个以默认位置静默安装的 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi。
虽然找到了我们想要的 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi 安装包。但这种方式需要先运行 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe，这会造成一次安装，如果想要重新选择安装位置需要先卸载再运行 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi。当然也可以通过修改注册表手动修改安装位置，但无论如何这都不是我们希望的安装方式。
完美方案：官方渠道获取正确的 .msi 安装包
其实可以从官网正常获取 EpicGames 启动器的 .msi 安装包，只是需要一点方法。
在 下载 Epic Games 启动器 - Epic游戏商城 页面内无论是右上角的下载按钮还是页面中的 在Windows上安装 按钮都能获得 EpicGames 启动器的 .msi 安装包。
这条下载渠道很隐蔽。因为你几乎无法从官网的支持或者什么其他的页面找到导向这个下载页面的链接。我不知道这是为什么。
结语
在 Windows 上使用易于获得的 EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe 安装包静默安装会把 EpicGames 启动器安装在C盘。这对于玩家或者部分开发者而言可能是一个好选项，但是对于我而言并非如此。
English translated with DeepSeek V4 Pro.
The Beginning
After reconfiguring my development environment and reworking my file path management, I needed to reinstall the Epic Games Launcher.
However, I discovered that the installers you get by clicking the download button in the top-right corner of the Epic Store website — EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe or EpicInstaller-19.2.3-unrealEngine.exe — run in a completely silent mode. They never show an installation wizard that would let you choose where to install.
I set out to understand why.
First Attempt: An Older Epic Games Launcher Installer
I searched Epic’s support pages and came across I can’t install the Epic Games Launcher - Epic Games Store Support. That article pointed me to Unable to install the Epic Games Launcher on Windows 7, Windows 8, or 32-bit Windows - Technical Support, where I found the installer EpicInstaller-18.12.1.msi.
EpicInstaller-18.12.1.msi does launch a proper wizard that lets you choose the installation folder, but it defaults to installing the 32-bit version of the Epic Games Launcher. During the installation process it updates itself to the latest release, and you can even spot the 64-bit launcher executable inside the ..\Win64 folder under ..\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries. Yet both the desktop shortcut and the Windows 11 Start Menu entry point to the 32-bit launcher. I’m sure you can guess what that means.
Second Attempt: Extracting the .msi from the .exe Package
Clearly, settling for an older launcher installer wasn’t what I wanted.
So while running EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe, I grabbed the EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi that gets extracted to C:\ProgramData\EpicInstallerTemp.
At this point it became clear that the EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe offered by default on the website is essentially a bootstrapper that performs a silent installation of EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi into a fixed, predetermined location.
Although I now had the EpicInstaller-19.2.3.msi I was after, this approach forces you to run the .exe first, which means one unavoidable installation. To choose a different path afterwards, you’d have to uninstall that copy and then run the .msi manually. You could also tweak the installation path directly through the registry, but none of these workarounds represent a clean installation experience.
The Perfect Solution: Obtaining the Proper .msi from Official Channels
It turns out you can get the official Epic Games Launcher .msi installer straight from the website — you just need to know where to look.
On the Download Epic Games Launcher - Epic Games Store page, both the download button in the upper-right corner and the “Install on Windows” button on the page itself deliver the .msi installer for the Epic Games Launcher.
This download channel is remarkably well hidden. You’ll hardly find any link pointing to that page from the support section or anywhere else on the official site. I honestly don’t know why.
Conclusion
On Windows, using the readily available EpicInstaller-19.2.3.exe silently installs the Epic Games Launcher onto the C: drive. That might be a perfectly fine choice for gamers or even for some developers, but it’s not the right one for me.