  In relativistic heavy-ion collisions, a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is created
whose pre-equilibrium evolution includes a rich variety of exciting phenomena
of Quantum Chromodynamics. In these Proceedings, we provide a short overview of
our current understanding of the pre-equilibrium dynamics of the QGP from a
weak-coupling perspective and highlight recent developments. Focusing on new
studies, we then discuss how initial stages of the QGP medium may impact hard
probes including direct photons, dileptons, jets, and heavy quarks. This
introduces promising opportunities to obtain experimental signatures of the
pre-equilibrium QGP.
