Epic Games Goes All In on AI for Its Marvel and Star Wars Shooter, and Developers Are Reportedly Stunned
Few topics divide the games industry like generative AI. Studios keep announcing new tools, players keep demanding disclaimers, and developers are left wondering how much of their craft is being handed to a machine. Now one of the biggest names in gaming is pushing that debate further than any major studio has so far.
Epic Games, the maker of ‘Fortnite’, has spent the past 2 years building a high-profile partnership with Disney. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024 in exchange for an equity stake, and the deal included plans for multiple games. The first was expected to be a shooter featuring characters from both Marvel and Star Wars, which an earlier report described as an extraction shooter in the vein of ‘Arc Raiders’.
That game has now been delayed, and the way it is being made has changed dramatically. According to a Bloomberg report, Epic has told developers on the unannounced shooter to adopt an “AI first” production model. Bloomberg reviewed an internal message in which one of the project’s directors told staff there would be “no more hand-written code.”
The director also said that all of the game’s artwork would come from full AI workflows. Developers were reportedly told to use Anthropic’s Claude as part of the new approach, with humans managing and guiding the AI’s output rather than building everything themselves. Bloomberg described it as the first attempt by a major video game company to build a title with AI as the primary foundation of its pipeline.
The shooter had been scheduled for March 2027, but that date is gone and no new one has been announced. Sources told Bloomberg that development had progressed more slowly than expected and that Epic had underestimated both the number of people and the amount of time needed. Epic has not given a reason for the delay.
The news reportedly landed hard. Developers learned about the change during a video call in early October, and Bloomberg said staff questioned how errors in AI-generated work would be handled. Others expressed doubt that the initiative would deliver the results Epic expects, and other outlets citing the report said many on the Disney game reacted with confusion and shock.
Bloomberg’s report is based on anonymous sources and an internal message, and Epic has confirmed only its broader direction. A spokesperson said the company is embracing AI-accelerated development led by Epic developers, who it described as the visionaries and creative drivers behind everything it does.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney publicly addressed the controversy, saying a huge pivot is underway as developers are moved around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. He argued that the aim is not to do the same work with fewer people, but to let everyone build more and better things, with the benefits extending to teams using Unreal Engine.
When critics said he was misreading the mood, Sweeney replied that much of the audience wants it to be 2016 again, but it isn’t. He said Epic’s job as a provider of tools and technology is to design for the present and the near future, and that he is personally optimistic and sees AI as empowering for creators.
The timing is delicate. In March, Epic laid off more than 1,000 employees, citing a downturn in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025 and spending that outpaced revenue. At the time, Sweeney stressed that the layoffs weren’t related to AI, and the company announced more than $500 million in cost savings alongside the cuts.
Epic has also faced criticism over AI before. In June, it shared a video showing how generative tools were used to create concept art for Fortnite skins, with artists correcting the results by hand. Some players responded by asking for disclaimers on cosmetics made with the technology.
The report raises a question that goes beyond one game: what happens when a studio builds a licensed project around Marvel and Star Wars characters on an AI-driven pipeline? Disney has not publicly commented on the report, and it remains unclear how much of the final product will rely on AI or how the studio plans to keep quality consistent. The answer will likely shape how other publishers approach the technology.
For players, the stakes are less about the tools than the results. If the shooter ships and plays well, Epic’s gamble could become a template for the industry, while a stumble would give critics more ammunition.
Would you still play a Marvel and Star Wars game built primarily with AI?
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