Epic Games is working to remove from the Unreal Engine and MetaHuman licence (EULA) the restriction that currently blocks AI training on outputs produced with those tools. The information is a statement from CEO Tim Sweeney, not a rule already in force: until the new terms are published, the current restriction remains in effect.
Sweeney replied on October 26, on X, to a Kotaku report questioning the stance of companies such as Microsoft and Epic — which advance in AI use while fighting third-party AI-made recreations of their games. In his reply, he separated the issues: using Fortnite intellectual property without permission or compensation remains prohibited, and that is not changing.
What changes, according to Sweeney
“Does Epic restrict AI training on outputs of Unreal Engine and MetaHuman? Yes currently but we are working to remove this restriction from EULA terms,” Sweeney wrote. The important caveat is that each game made with the tools is released under terms chosen by its own developers — in other words, each studio will be able to allow or restrict AI training on its own game.
The same logic applies to Fab, Epic's marketplace: using other creators' assets for training depends on each developer, who can use the NoAI tag to veto that use. Sweeney gave no date for the new terms, and Game Developer reported that it had contacted Epic for more details and had received no reply by the time of publication.
Why it matters for developers
In practice, if confirmed in the new terms, the change would shift the decision to each project's contract: rendered frames, animation data and other outputs generated in Unreal Engine and MetaHuman would no longer face a blanket veto from Epic, but would still be subject to the studio's choice — a sensitive point for games with licensed IP, distinctive art direction or pipelines involving external vendors. For now, however, this is a plan announced by the executive, not a published policy.
Image credit: Unreal Engine logo. Image: Epic Games, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: Game Developer; GameDev.net; How to Video Game.
Transparency: this article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence, cross-checked against public posts on X and internet sources. We recommend consulting the original sources for more details.
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