Report: Epic Games orders staff to adopt AI-first development on an unannounced title

Bloomberg reports that Epic Games has told developers to adopt AI-first development on an unannounced shooter made with Disney, with no more handwritten code and all art generated through full AI workflows using tools such as Anthropic's Claude, while humans manage and guide the work. The title is said to feature Marvel and Star Wars characters and to have progressed slower than expected, partly because Epic underestimated the staff needed, and the internal message reportedly surprised some developers last week. An Epic spokesperson said the company is embracing AI-accelerated development, and CEO Tim Sweeney said Epic has a huge pivot underway to retool developers for maximum AI acceleration, aiming to build more and better content rather than do the same work with fewer people.