Epic shifts Disney shooter to AI-first development, report says
Epic Games has reportedly pushed back an unnamed Disney shooter that had been planned for March 2027. Developers on the project were told to adopt an AI-first workflow, including no handwritten code and art generated through full AI pipelines. Epic founder Tim Sweeney confirmed a broad pivot toward AI acceleration, saying it is meant to help teams build more and better content rather than replace people.
Epic reportedly moved the unnamed Disney shooter from a March 2027 target to an unspecified launch. Staff were directed toward an AI-first approach, with a director saying code would no longer be handwritten and art would come from full AI pipelines. The title was expected to be first in a planned series tied to Disney properties after Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024.
Bloomberg reported the game lagged partly because too few people were assigned to keep its schedule. Sweeney's X post described a broader internal reorganization for AI acceleration, while Epic's communications director said developers remain creative leads. Some workers reportedly reacted with disbelief; others joked about asking Claude to repair its own mistakes.
If adopted widely, AI-first game production could reshape roles for programmers and artists, shifting some work toward oversight and tool management. Players may see faster updates or uneven quality, depending on how pipelines mature. Smaller studios might face pressure to match larger firms' AI capacity, while concerns about job security and creative credit may grow. These outcomes are uncertain and depend on implementation, labor responses, and audience acceptance.