Epic Games Delays Marvel and Star Wars Shooter to Retool Around AI Development
The studio has pushed back its unnamed Disney franchise game and is shifting its workforce toward an AI-first production model, according to reporting from Bloomberg.
Epic Games has postponed the launch of an unannounced shooter drawing from Disney's Marvel and Star Wars properties, instructing its development team to embrace artificial intelligence in their workflow. Bloomberg reported that the title, originally scheduled to arrive in March 2027, now has no confirmed release window. The studio has directed staff to adopt what leadership describes as an "AI first" approach to production.
Project leadership communicated the shift in strategy to team members, with one game director stating that the studio would implement "no more handwritten code" and that visual assets would be "generated with full AI workflows." The announcement came as Epic founder Tim Sweeney posted an update on X addressing the broader organizational changes underway at the company.
Sweeney outlined the rationale behind the pivot in his statement: "We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal."
The Epic founder has previously articulated his perspective on artificial intelligence as a development tool, distinguishing between its practical applications and broader concerns. Sweeney criticized Valve's approach to labeling games with AI tags, characterizing the decision as "irresponsible." He has characterized AI as fundamentally instrumental, suited for automating tedious work such as code review or rigging three-dimensional models.
Jake Jones, communications director at Epic Games, reinforced the company's commitment to the new direction when speaking with the publication. "We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do," Jones said.