Epic Games is reportedly pushing developers on an unannounced Disney shooter, which will feature Marvel and Star Wars characters, to adopt an "AI-first" production model. According to a report by Bloomberg, staff were recently informed of the shift, which includes using generative AI for art creation and moving away from "hand-written code."
The director of the game allegedly told developers that all art assets should be produced using "full AI workflows." Jake Jones, communications director at Epic Games, stated that the company is "embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do."
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been vocal in his support for generative AI, even criticizing storefronts like Steam for requiring developers to disclose their use of the technology. However, reports suggest that many employees working on the Disney project reacted to the new AI policies with confusion and surprise. It remains unclear what measures are in place to manage AI-generated errors and prevent "slop" from impacting the final product.
The shooter, initially slated for a March 2027 release, has been delayed due to slow progress and staffing issues. This development comes despite a $1.5 billion investment from Disney in 2024 for collaborations including this project. The news follows Epic Games' layoffs of over 1,000 employees earlier this year, attributed to challenges with Fortnite engagement and ongoing litigation.
While AI models like Claude Opus 5.5 have seen increased use in modding and homebrew projects, enabling the creation of everything from game ports to new game assets, no major gaming company has yet scaled generative AI adoption across its entire development pipeline. Previous suggestions of similar implementations have often met with significant backlash from players.