Epic Games is using AI in game development more than it ever has. According to Bloomberg, it has delayed a Disney project to adopt a production plan that one director described as “AI first.”
According to sources who spoke to Bloomberg, the game’s director told the team the project would adopt the new approach. An internal message said “No more hand-written code” and directed that all art be “generated with full AI workflows.”
Not every developer has welcomed the directive. Sources said some employees hoped the request wasn’t meant seriously. The move does fit Epic’s wider push into generative AI, which the company has been building into Unreal Engine all year.
Jake Jones, Epic’s communications director, gave Bloomberg a statement saying, “We’re embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.”
The project comes out of Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic in 2024. Disney characters have appeared as Fortnite skins over the years, but the partnership was meant to go deeper and create a “games and entertainment universe.” Rumors earlier this year said Epic’s most promising Disney project was an extraction shooter similar to Arc Raiders. The game was reportedly due in November, but Bloomberg reported it had been delayed to March before the AI initiative was announced.
The change comes as opinion of generative AI in the games industry grows more negative. In GDC’s annual survey, 52 percent of developers called the technology bad for the industry this year, up from 30 percent in 2025. The survey also found that many people in gaming do use generative AI tools, but mostly for research and programming, not for making assets.
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