Epic Games moves to AI‑first development for Disney shooter

Epic Games announced that developers on its unannounced Disney shooter will follow an “AI‑first” mandate, using AI tools such as Anthropic’s Claude to generate code and art (S2). The company said the shift means “no more hand‑written code” and that all art will be “generated with full AI workflows” (S1, S2). An Epic spokesperson told Bloomberg that the firm is “embracing AI‑accelerated development” (S2).

Internal Epic messages viewed by Bloomberg indicate that human developers will manage and guide the code and art assets produced by the AI models (S1). The spokesperson added that Epic developers remain the “visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do” (S1).

The collaboration, valued at $1.5 billion and announced in early 2024, was planned to launch a Marvel‑ and Star Wars‑themed shooter in March 2027 (S1). The project has been delayed indefinitely following the AI‑related pivot and slower development progress (S1).

Tim Sweeney posted on social media that the aim is to enable teams to “build MORE and BETTER stuff” rather than reduce headcount (S1). He also argued that AI usage disclosure tags “make no sense” because AI will be involved in nearly all future production (S1).

Epic laid off more than 1,000 employees in March, citing a downturn in Fortnite engagement (S1, S2). The company has previously used AI in Fortnite, including an AI‑voiced Darth Vader character that required a hotfix (S2).