Epic Games has delayed an unannounced video-game collaboration with Walt Disney Co. and directed its development team to adopt an 'AI-first' production model to complete the project. The title — a shooter featuring characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises — had been slated for release in March but is now delayed with no new date communicated to staff.
Developers were instructed to implement the new approach using tools including Anthropic's Claude for code generation and art workflows, with humans then managing and guiding that output. 'No more hand-written code,' one of the game's directors told staff in an internal message reviewed by Bloomberg, adding that all art for the game would be 'generated with full AI workflows.' [Source: Bloomberg] Epic Games communications director Jake Jones said in a statement: 'We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.' [Source: Bloomberg]
The announcement left some Epic developers stunned on a video call, with some joking about whether they should ask Claude to fix its own mistakes. Progress on the Disney game has been slower than expected, in part because Epic underestimated how many staffers and how much time it would take to produce. CEO Tim Sweeney addressed internal criticism, telling staff that 'much of the room wants it to be 2016, but it's not.' [Source: BBC News] Epic confirmed what it described as a 'huge pivot' towards AI use across the project.
The collaboration sits within a broader partnership between the two companies. Disney announced a planned $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games in February 2024, alongside a multiyear agreement to create a connected games and entertainment universe incorporating Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar properties. Walt Disney Co. (DIS) is the only publicly traded entity with a direct financial stake in the project through that investment.
The AI mandate represents a significant escalation of Epic's existing direction. Even before this announcement, the maker of Fortnite had been pushing for the use of AI across all of its divisions, and industry observers note this is the first time a major video-game company has attempted to build a title primarily with AI tools. The shift comes after Epic announced layoffs affecting more than 1,000 employees in March 2026, which the company attributed to declining Fortnite engagement and financial pressures, stating at the time that those cuts were not related to AI.
Sources: Bloomberg, BBC News, The Verge, mxdwn Games