Epic Games delays Disney game and tells developers to go "AI first"

Epic Games has postponed its upcoming Disney collaboration, a shooter featuring characters from Marvel and Star Wars franchises, which was previously scheduled for March. The company has not provided a new release date, and the delay follows an internal directive to developers to adopt an "AI first" production approach. Bloomberg reported that developers were instructed to use AI tools, including Anthropic's Claude, with staff overseeing the output rather than writing code manually.

In an internal message, one of the game's directors told staff that all code would no longer be hand-written and that art would be generated entirely through AI workflows. The director emphasized a shift toward AI-driven development, while Epic's communications director Jake Jones stated that the company is "embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do."

Developers were informed of the change during a video call last week, with some reportedly stunned by the announcement. Sources told Bloomberg that development had fallen behind schedule, partly due to Epic underestimating the staffing and time required for the project. The company had already been encouraging AI use across its divisions before this directive.

Disney did not immediately respond to Bloomberg's request for comment. The collaboration between Disney and Epic includes a multi-game partnership, with the shooter intended as the first release. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024 and took an equity stake. Earlier this year, Epic announced it was cutting 1,000 jobs, partly citing slowing engagement in Fortnite.