Epic Games Launcher blamed for random PC sounds

Several PC users have reported mysterious sounds playing at random, and the Epic Games Launcher appears to be the source. The issue was reported by TweakTown after a Fortnite news page on X found matching audio files in the Epic Games “social chimes” folder.

The sounds represent party actions such as a user leaving, push-to-talk activation or deactivation, and message notifications. They can play even when users are not in Epic Games parties. Some users also reported hearing them on Windows 11 systems when the launcher was not visibly open, without any accompanying pop-up notification.

Epic confirmed through the FortniteStatus X page that the “party chimes” were playing more frequently than intended. On September 19, 2026, the company said it was updating the Epic Games Launcher to narrow which events play a sound while the launcher runs in the background, so users should hear fewer of them when they are not actively using it.

TweakTown reported that Epic plans to add an option to turn the chimes on or off in the future, although that option is not currently a top priority. Epic has not yet provided a permanent toggle, according to the report.