Epic Games is reportedly letting AI write the code and draw the art for its $1.5 billion Disney game - and the overhaul comes with the project's original release date getting shelved.
Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources and internal messages, that Epic has shifted to an "AI first" strategy for its Marvel- and Star Wars-themed shooter with Disney. Models such as Anthropic's Claude are now doing the actual work: "no more hand-written code" and art "generated with full AI workflows," according to the report. Human developers are being repositioned to manage and guide what the AI produces rather than build it themselves. The shooter, part of a deal announced in early 2024 and originally due in March 2027, has now been delayed indefinitely.
This is one of the biggest bets yet on AI-first production for a big-budget game, not just an AI art filter or coding assistant bolted onto existing workflows. If it works, every major publisher will be asking why its own teams still write code by hand. If it doesn't, Epic will have handed critics of AI-driven game development their best example yet.
Worth noting: this shift is reportedly happening alongside admissions that the project was already understaffed and behind schedule - so it's hard to tell whether AI is the plan or the bailout.