Epic Games has DELAYED its unannounced Disney collaboration—a Marvel and Star Wars MULTIPLAYER shooter meant for the Fortnite METAVERSE—and told staff to finish it under an “AI FIRST” production model, Bloomberg reported October 12. The title, once aimed at March 2027, now has NO set release date.
Internal messages reviewed by Bloomberg, and summarized by Ars Technica and VGC, say directors ordered “NO more hand-written code” and art “generated with FULL AI workflows,” with models such as Anthropic’s Claude doing core work while human staff MANAGE and GUIDE the output. An Epic spokesperson said the studio is “embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the VISIONARIES and creative drivers for everything we do.”
What Bloomberg Says Changed
- NO March 2027 date. The Marvel / Star Wars shooter tied to Disney’s 2024 stake is DELAYED indefinitely.
- AI-first pipeline. Code and art are to be GENERATED first; humans SUPERVISE and fix.
- Staffing miss. Progress SLOWED after Epic underestimated the labor the crossover needed.
- Prior cuts. Epic cut about 1,000 jobs in March, citing softer Fortnite engagement.
Sweeney Frames It as Acceleration, Not Shrinkage
Hours after the Bloomberg piece, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney posted on X: “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.” (tweet)
That MESSAGE matters for Metaverse Watcher readers because the Disney deal was sold as a Fortnite “entertainment UNIVERSE”—Marvel, Star Wars, and other IP inside Epic’s social game layer. Bloomberg also reported INTERNAL skepticism about whether the tools are ready. The studio already faced an awkward AI moment in May, when an AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite began repeating curse words before a hotfix.
Disney’s $1.5 BILLION equity investment in Epic, announced in 2024, remains the FINANCIAL backdrop. What is NEW is the production RULE: the crossover shooter is no longer on a public calendar, and the path Epic describes runs through generative pipelines first. Whether that SHORTENS the wait—or only REDEFINES the labor—is the open question the report leaves unanswered.
Sources: Ars Technica (Oct 12); VGC (Oct 12); Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance; Tim Sweeney on X; Beebom (Oct 13).