Epic Games Mandates AI-First Development on Disney Shooter, Delays Release
A major studio is attempting to ship a high-profile licensed title using AI-generated code and art at scale. The mandate and delay together test whether current AI tools can carry production game development.
Epic Games has mandated an 'AI first' production model on its unannounced Disney collaboration, a shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters. A director told developers in an internal message there would be 'no more hand-written code' and all art would use 'full AI workflows,' with Anthropic's Claude among the specified tools. The game has been delayed indefinitely; its release had already slipped from a November to a March 2027 target before the AI directive took effect. Bloomberg attributed the delay to the AI strategy shift and slower-than-expected, understaffed development. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024.
An analyst predicted on October 15 that the unannounced Epic Games shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters will be bad, citing the need for precise hand-crafting in great games and the immaturity of current AI tools.
Reporting also added that the AI mandate, which bars hand-written code and requires all art through AI workflows, shocked developers on a video call, with some joking about asking Claude to fix its own mistakes.
Epic Games directed developers on its Disney collaboration to write no code by hand and produce all art through AI workflows, with Anthropic's Claude among the models used for code generation.
Bloomberg reported October 13 the project, backed by Disney's $1.5 billion 2024 investment, has been delayed indefinitely due to the AI strategy shift and understaffed development. Some developers reportedly hoped the directive was not serious, and Epic said the company is pursuing AI-accelerated development led by its own developers.
I send one email each morning with the stories that moved. If you would rather just read here, that works too.
Subscribe free