Epic Games is shifting its development workflow to prioritize artificial intelligence for a major unannounced title, a move that changes how the studio builds games using Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars intellectual property. This strategic pivot affects the production pipeline for a high-profile shooter collaboration that has reportedly faced delays due to earlier staffing miscalculations. The change signals a broader operational adjustment at the company as it seeks to accelerate content creation across its Unreal Engine ecosystem.
Epic Games shifts to AI-first workflow for Marvel and Star Wars project
The project in question involves characters from both the Marvel and Star Wars universes, according to reports from Bloomberg. Epic Games reportedly instructed its internal teams to adopt an 'AI-first' development model for this specific shooter. Developers were told to stop using traditional handwritten code for certain tasks and instead rely on AI tools to generate assets and code structures. This directive applies to the unannounced Disney collaboration, which remains in active development despite the reported timeline adjustments.
CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed the internal restructuring on social media, stating that the company is moving developers to maximize AI acceleration. He emphasized that the goal is not to reduce headcount but to enable teams to build more and better content using Unreal Engine tools. An Epic spokesperson added that the company is embracing AI-accelerated development led by its own engineers. The strategy involves using models like Anthropic's Claude for art generation, with human developers managing and refining the output.
This approach aligns with Epic's previous announcements regarding Unreal Engine 6, which plans to integrate AI models like Claude and Gemini to reduce tedious manual work. The studio previously explored AI tooling to boost efficiency in other projects, such as Fortnite. The current directive extends this philosophy to a new, unannounced shooter with a major licensing partner. The shift aims to streamline production while maintaining creative control through human oversight of AI-generated assets.
Epic Games is implementing a new production standard that relies heavily on AI assistance for its upcoming Disney collaboration. The company confirmed that developers will use AI tools to accelerate asset creation and coding tasks. This change affects the workflow for the unannounced Marvel and Star Wars shooter. The studio continues to integrate AI into its Unreal Engine platform to support broader development goals.
Source: VideoGameChronicles
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