Report: Epic delays Disney shooter and orders an ‘AI-first’ approach
According to Bloomberg, Epic developers are to write barely any code themselves for the joint game featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters. The planned March launch is slipping.
Archive image · Photo: Sergey Galyonkin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Epic Games has delayed its joint game with Disney, according to a Bloomberg report. The shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters was slated for March, and according to Bloomberg no new date has been given. Work is progressing more slowly than expected, partly because Epic underestimated how many staff and how much time it would need. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024.
At the same time, developers are reportedly switching to an ‘AI-first’ production model, with humans managing and guiding work done with tools such as Anthropic’s Claude. According to Bloomberg, one of the game’s directors wrote in an internal message: “No more hand-written code.” All art is also to be generated with AI workflows. Some staff reportedly reacted with shock during a video call.
Epic told Bloomberg it is embracing AI-accelerated development led by its own developers. CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X of a “huge pivot” in which developers are being moved around, according to VGC. Epic cut around 1,000 jobs in March.