Epic and Disney announced their $1.5 billion collaboration in early 2024, setting the stage for a major connected games venture built around Disney’s franchises. The reported first shooter, featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters, had been targeted for March 2027.¹

That timetable has now reportedly been abandoned. Bloomberg’s account, summarized by multiple outlets, says the game has been delayed indefinitely after slower-than-expected, understaffed development — and as Epic reorganizes the team around an “AI first” production model.¹

The internal direction is unusually sweeping: developers are reportedly expected to supervise AI-generated output rather than write it from scratch. One director’s message was blunt: “No more hand-written code,” while the project’s art would be “generated with full AI workflows.”² Tools including Anthropic’s Claude are expected to play a central role.²

Epic’s public argument is that the change is an expansion of human creativity, not a headcount exercise. A spokesperson said the company was “embracing AI-accelerated development,” with Epic developers remaining “the visionaries and creative drivers” behind its work.¹

Chief executive Tim Sweeney struck the same note after the report surfaced, saying Epic was moving developers to “retool for maximum AI acceleration.” He argued the goal was not to make “the same stuff with fewer people,” but to help staff build “MORE and BETTER stuff” and extend those gains through Unreal Engine.Elon Musk (elonmusk)³

The contrast is stark: Epic is selling AI as creative leverage, while the delayed shooter shows the immediate disruption of making it the production pipeline rather than a supporting tool. The company has already tested AI inside Fortnite, including an AI Darth Vader that required a hotfix after inappropriate responses; the Disney project appears set to push much further.²