Epic Games reportedly shifts to an "AI-first" game development model
According to Bloomberg, Epic Games will have AI models write all the code and guide the art for its shooter made with Disney. The project has been delayed indefinitely.
Epic Games, the maker of the Unreal Engine game engine, is moving to an "AI-first" development strategy for its collaboration with the Walt Disney Company, Bloomberg reports. The agency cites unnamed people familiar with the project. AI models are expected to write all the code and guide all the artwork for an upcoming shooter, marking a major shift in how the studio works internally.
What the new approach involves
Based on internal Epic employee messages seen by Bloomberg, human developers will manage and steer the code and art assets produced by models such as Anthropic's Claude. The report quotes the messages as saying there will be "no more hand-written code" and that art will be "generated with full AI workflows."
Project delays
The $1.5 billion Epic–Disney collaboration was announced in early 2024. It was scheduled to deliver a Marvel- and Star Wars-themed shooter in March 2027. According to Bloomberg, the project has now been delayed indefinitely because of the AI-related shake-up, as well as understaffing and development that has been slower than expected.
Company comments
An Epic spokesperson said in a statement that the company is embracing AI-accelerated development led by Epic developers. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on social media after the Bloomberg story appeared that a large pivot is underway, with developers being moved around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. He stressed that the goal is not to do the same work with fewer people, but to let everyone at the company build more and better things and extend the benefits to all teams using Unreal.
