Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games has reportedly delayed the release of a Disney extraction shooter that it had been working on so as to incorporate more artificial intelligence technology into its development.
The news comes from Bloomberg, which reports that the game's developers were instructed to engage with an "AI first" production process, using generative AI models like Anthropic's Claude – a tool that's recently been in the limelight for its role in fan-created PlayStation emulations like the controversial fan-made Bloodborne PC port that made rounds online last week.
An internal message from one of the game's directors has apparently confirmed as much. "No more hand-written code," it allegedly reads, going on to declare that all art for the game would now be "generated with full AI workflows."
Epic Games' communications director Jake Jones has responded to Bloomberg, too, admitting, "We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do."
Disney representatives declined to comment, apparently.
This all lines up with what Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is writing over on Twitter as well. "We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic," the studio lead describes, "moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal."
We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.October 12, 2026
As you can imagine, commenters aren't exactly thrilled.
I can't say this comes as much of a surprise, though, really. Sweeney has made his stance on generative AI very clear in the past, having dubbed Steam's own AI disclosures "really irresponsible of Valve" as they supposedly make it "much, much, much harder for a game developer to have a chance of success."
In other words, he's never been opposed to the highly controversial tech – he's only ever expressed the opposite.
So, what's next for Epic Games and its collaborative project with Disney? Well, I suppose that only time can tell for certain – but I'm not sure that this move is tasteful… especially after the company's widespread layoffs earlier this year.
Fortnite's Hollow Knight crossover items cost more than Hollow Knight itself – and Silksong, too.
