Epic mandates AI-generated code and art for unannounced Disney shooter

Epic Games has directed developers on an unannounced Disney game to lean on AI tools such as Anthropic's Claude to finish the project, with instructions covering both code and art. The mandate was reported by Bloomberg and covered by The Verge, and it arrives as the game slips past its original March release window.

An explicit AI-first mandate

According to Bloomberg, one of the game's directors told staff in a message that there would be "no more hand-written code." Developers were also informed that all of the game's art would be "generated with full AI workflows." In a statement to Bloomberg, Epic spokesperson Jake Jones described the company as "embracing AI-accelerated development."

The Verge notes that neither Epic nor Disney immediately responded to its request for further comment.

A flagship project running late

The title is reportedly a shooter built around Marvel and Star Wars characters, per Bloomberg. It forms part of a multiyear collaboration between the two companies, one that included a $1.5 billion Disney investment in Epic in 2024. The game had been aimed at a March release, and the pivot toward AI-driven production comes as that window has been missed.

Not Epic's first move with AI

Epic has already put AI in front of players. As The Verge points out, Fortnite has featured AI-driven Disney characters, including an AI Darth Vader. The studio is not alone on the tooling side either, with Meta and Google both releasing AI game-development products. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has separately pressed Valve to drop Steam's "made with AI" disclosure tag, arguing that "AI will be involved in nearly all future production."

The mandate also lands after a difficult stretch for the company. The Verge recounts that Epic laid off more than 1,000 employees earlier this year, following a drop in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025.

Why it matters

Most large-studio adoption of generative AI so far has been framed as assistance: tools that help artists, writers and engineers move faster while humans stay responsible for the output. Epic's directive goes further, making AI the default producer of both code and art on a major licensed project, and The Verge suggests the studio may be aiming for AI to do most of the heavy lifting.

The partner involved raises the stakes. A project carrying Marvel and Star Wars, two of the most closely guarded franchises in entertainment, moving to fully AI-generated production would signal how normalized such pipelines have become at the top of the industry. The timing also sharpens the labor question, since the mandate follows mass layoffs, and it feeds a live debate over whether storefronts should label games made this way. Most immediately, the delayed release becomes a very public test of whether AI-first development can actually ship a big-budget game.