Ars Technica AI · 10/13/2026, 04:59:50
Epic Games Pivots to AI-First Development: Claude Handles Code and Art, Delaying Disney Project Indefinitely
Epic Games has shifted to an 'AI-first' development strategy for its $1.5 billion collaboration with Disney, mandating that models like Anthropic's Claude generate all code and art assets while humans focus on guidance. This pivot has led to the indefinite delay of the planned Marvel and Star Wars shooter, highlighting the operational disruptions and timeline adjustments major studios face when integrating large language models into core production pipelines.
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Epic Games is shifting to an "AI first" development strategy for its collaboration with the Walt Disney Company, letting AI models write all the code and guide all the artwork for an upcoming shooter. That's according to aBloombergreport, which cites unnamed people familiar with the project who commented on the significant pivot in internal development at the Unreal Engine maker.
Human developers will be tasked with managing and guiding code and art assets generated by models such as Anthropic's Claude, according to internal Epic employee messages viewed by Bloomberg. That means "no more hand-written code" and art assets "generated with full AI workflows," according to the report.
The $1.5 billion collaboration between Epic and Disney, announced in early 2024, was slated to release a Marvel- and Star Wars-themed shooter in March 2027. That project has now been delayed indefinitely amid the AI-related shakeup and understaffed, slower-than-expected development thus far, according to the report.