Epic told developers to go "AI first" — and delayed its Disney shooter

Epic Games has delayed its upcoming Disney collaboration — a shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters — and told developers to move to an "AI first" production model.

According to Bloomberg, the game had been slated for March. No new date has been confirmed. People familiar with the project said developers were asked to build it with AI tools including Anthropic's Claude, with staff overseeing the output.

"No more hand-written code"

In an internal message seen by Bloomberg, one of the game's directors told staff: "No more hand-written code." The director also said all of the game's art would be "generated with full AI workflows."

Developers were told about the change on a video call. Some were, in Bloomberg's words, "stunned."

Epic communications director Jake Jones framed it as a continuation of existing practice:

We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.

The context that matters

• The project had reportedly fallen behind schedule, partly because Epic misjudged the staffing and time it needed.
• Bloomberg notes no other major games company has previously tried to make a game mostly with AI.
• Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024 and took an equity stake; this shooter was meant to be the first fruit of that partnership.
• Epic cut 1,000 jobs in March, citing slowing Fortnite engagement.

The industry isn't of one mind

A 2026 GDC survey found more than a third of game developers use AI in their work — while more than half believe it is harmful to the industry. The same day Epic's move surfaced, we reported that Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii had released a game he says he made with AI in about 30 minutes.

Nobody is arguing AI can't produce something. The open question is whether it can produce something good, and who is accountable when it doesn't. That's the thread worth following all year.