Editorial illustration for Epic shifts Disney shooter to AI tools like Claude, Bloomberg says
Epic's Disney Shooter Turns to AI Coding Tools
Epic shifts Disney shooter to AI tools like Claude, Bloomberg says
Epic Games is telling developers on its unannounced Disney shooter to stop writing code by hand and let AI do it instead, according to a Bloomberg report. The game, which features Marvel and Star Wars characters, has already slipped past its original March release window. Bloomberg says one of the project's directors sent staff a blunt directive: no more hand-written code. Art is supposed to come from "full AI workflows," too.
Epic spokesperson Jake Jones confirmed the shift, telling Bloomberg the company is "embracing AI-accelerated development." Neither Epic nor Disney answered requests for comment beyond that statement. The game sits inside a multiyear deal between the two companies, one that came with Disney putting $1.5 billion into Epic back in 2024.
Epic isn't new to AI in its games. Fortnite has run AI-voiced characters before, including a version of Darth Vader players could talk to. What's different here is the scope. Rather than a feature bolted onto an existing game, Epic appears to be building a new one with AI tools handling code and art from the start, at a company other major studios are watching closely as they weigh similar moves.
Epic Games plans to use AI to generate code and art for an unannounced Disney game, which is now delayed from its original March release window, according to a report from Bloomberg. The project’s developers have been given an “AI-first” mandate directing them to use tools like Anthropic’s Claude more to finish the game.
Why this matters
A studio director telling staff "no more hand-written code" is a different thing than a CEO touting AI efficiency gains on an earnings call. This is a live production, on a Disney license, missing its original March window, with art and code both pushed through "full AI workflows." We'd want to know what happens to the people whose job was writing that code and painting that art, and whether Epic's quality bar bends to fit the tools or the tools get held to the bar that shipped Fortnite. Bloomberg's report doesn't say which.
For founders watching labor costs, this is the test case to track: a big-budget, recognizable-IP game as a live experiment in whether AI-generated code and assets hold up under shipping pressure, not just demo conditions. For developers, the mandate itself is the story, less about Claude's capability and more about studios now willing to tell veteran teams to change how they work, starting now, on a project already behind schedule. Worth watching whether the delay gets shorter or longer once the mandate lands.
Related Reading
Browse all Anthropic news →
Open Source D&B rebuilds 642 million‑business database after AI agents hit limits
Open Source Box CEO Aaron Levie Says AI Will Drive "Biggest Cybersecurity Upgrade
Open Source Study: 6.7% of Deepfake Requests on Hugging Face Targeted Children
Related Topic Claude gains shared context in Excel, PowerPoint; Microsoft adds Copilot Cowork
AI Tools & Apps
Related Topic Anthropic: Hackers Stole Claude Tokens Via Compromised Session Key
LLMs & Generative AI
From Archives Open Models Offer Benefits, But an Extractive Approach Raises Safety Risks
From Archives Microsoft’s New AI Chip Promises 40% More Tokens Per Megawatt Than GPUs
From Archives Anthropic Cuts Claude Reasoning Token Theft by Up to 99%
LLMs & Generative AI
From Archives Anthropic study finds small AI models can self-replicate on new devices
Research & Benchmarks
Common Questions Answered
What AI tools is Epic Games using for the unannounced Disney shooter project?
Epic Games is using AI tools like Anthropic's Claude to generate both code and art for the project. The studio has implemented an 'AI-first' mandate directing developers to rely on these AI tools rather than writing code by hand or creating art through traditional methods.
Why did Epic Games shift to AI workflows for the Disney shooter game?
The project, which features Marvel and Star Wars characters, has already slipped past its original March release window. By shifting to 'full AI workflows' for both code and art generation, Epic Games appears to be attempting to accelerate development and meet revised deadlines.
What specific directive did the project's director give regarding hand-written code?
One of the project's directors sent staff a blunt directive stating 'no more hand-written code,' mandating that developers stop writing code manually and instead use AI tools to generate it. Additionally, art is supposed to come from 'full AI workflows' rather than traditional artistic creation methods.
What are the potential concerns about Epic's AI-first approach for this Disney project?
The shift raises questions about what happens to developers and artists whose roles traditionally involved writing code and creating art, and whether Epic's quality standards will be maintained when relying on AI-generated content. There is uncertainty about whether the studio's quality bar will adapt to fit the capabilities of AI tools or whether the tools will be held to the standards of previously shipped games.
Further Reading
- Epic delays Disney game, tells developers to build it with AI - Bloomberg
- Epic Games reportedly orders staff to implement 'AI-first' development - Video Games Chronicle
- Epic Asks Workers to Use Claude, Other AI Tools to Make Upcoming Disney Game - Gadgets 360
- Google experiments with an AI-powered gaming platform - TechCrunch
- Epic Games Switches to AI-First Game Development Starting with Unannounced Disney Shooter - TechPowerUp
