Epic Games has hit pause on a Disney-linked shooter starring characters from Marvel and Star Wars. People familiar with the project said it had been targeted for March but is now delayed without a new date, and they asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Teams were told to build the game with an AI-first approach using tools such as Anthropic's Claude, with people overseeing and directing the output. In a message to staff reviewed by Bloomberg, one of the game's directors said, "No more hand-written code," and also that all art would be "generated with full AI workflows." Epic has been pushing AI across the company for a while, and this marks the first time a major video game company has tried to make a title primarily with AI tools.
Jake Jones, Epic Games' communications director, said in a statement to Bloomberg News, "We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do." A Disney representative did not get back to a request for comment right away.
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People familiar with the situation said some developers were surprised on a video call last week. A few joked about asking Claude to repair its own mistakes. Others hoped the directive might be rolled back, saying the strategy would not deliver the results Epic expects.
In 2024, Disney put $1.5 billion into privately held Epic for an equity stake, and the companies also struck a multi-game partnership slated to kick off with this shooter. In March, Epic announced layoffs totaling 1,000 positions, pointing to slower Fortnite sales as a factor. Work on the game has moved more slowly than anticipated, in part because Epic misjudged how many people and how much time the project would require, according to the people.
Generative AI in gaming remains a flashpoint among developers and fans, with critics saying AI-produced content lacks polish.
For your wallet, the punchline is simple: if a flagship title leans hard into AI and slips, that can ripple into delays, budgets, and how fast fresh content actually lands on your console or PC.
A slipped release date moves a whole fiscal year's numbers. Get the free Market Briefs daily newsletter and follow it.
