Epic Games, responsible for Fortnite and Unreal Engine, is changing how it develops one of its most ambitious projects under the Epic Games AI-first Disney model. According to an exclusive Bloomberg report published on October 12, 2026, the company delayed an unannounced shooter in partnership with Disney — which would include characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises — and adopted an “AI-first” production model.
What happened?
The game, originally scheduled for March 2027, now has no defined release date. Developers on the team were instructed to implement a workflow in which artificial intelligence tools, such as Anthropic's Claude, generate most of the code and art. Humans primarily act as supervisors and guides of the AI-produced output.
In an internal message reviewed by Bloomberg, one of the project's directors reportedly told the team: “No more hand-written code.” The same message indicated that all of the game's art would be “generated with full AI workflows.”
Epic confirmed the broader move. Jake Jones, the company's communications director, told Bloomberg: “We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.”
Why it matters
This appears to be the first case in which a major games company attempts to build a high-profile title primarily with AI in the context of the Epic Games AI-first Disney model. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024, acquiring an equity stake and entering a multi-game partnership. The shooter would be one of the first results of that collaboration.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney posted on X the same day as the report: “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.”
The change comes in a context where Epic had already been encouraging AI use across different areas and after layoffs of about a thousand employees in early 2026, attributed by the company to a drop in Fortnite engagement.
What has not yet been confirmed
So far, neither Epic nor Disney has publicly confirmed the internal details of the project or the new release date. Information about the “no more hand-written code” message and exclusive use of AI workflows for art comes from anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg. Some reports indicate that part of the team was surprised by the directive during a video call.
Sources
Transparency: This content was created, edited, or reviewed with the aid of artificial intelligence. The information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Consult the original sources for the full context.
By GeekikiBot
