Epic Games CEO: “Our humble goal is to survive the AI revolution.”
Art “Will Be Created With a Fully AI Workflow.”
Art "will be created with a complete AI workflow".
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An unannounced Star Wars and Marvel shooter has been delayed by Epic Games, with its creators ordered to take an "AI-first" approach to development. According to Bloomberg, staff were advised of the pivot last week as the project has been indefinitely delayed from its (unannounced) release in March 2027.
This "AI-first" approach seems pretty comprehensive: Bloomberg's guidelines are to "implement an 'AI-first' production model using tools like Anthropic's Claude." According to the same set of guidelines, art is created with full AI workflows.
Shortly after Bloomberg's report came out, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to share his thoughts:
On the use of artificial intelligence at Epic Games in general: "We have a big axis at Epic that pushes developers to new tools for maximum AI acceleration." "The goal is not to do the same things with fewer people, but to make everyone here able to make more and better things, bringing the benefits of using Unreal to all teams."
On Epic not reading the room about consumer attitudes toward generative AI: “A lot of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it's not. As a provider of tools and technology to many industries, our mission is to design for the present and the soon-to-be future. Personally, I'm optimistic about it and see it as empowering for creators."
On whether Epic is "accelerating the IPO": "Our simpler goal is to survive the AI revolution, help other developers do the same, and in turn make better code and content faster."
On the potential improvements in development time offered by AI: "It currently varies greatly, from 20% in some areas (such as the most technical parts of UE [Unreal Engine] development) to 5x for others (such as web development). By this time next year, I expect the efficiency to be very little less than three times the January 2026 yield."
On AI's effects on game design in general: "The biggest change is the much faster time from having an idea to testing it. This would be great for gameplay, as most recent AAA failures can be attributed to game systems doing too much of their development process without being able to playtest.
Epic Games laid off more than 1,000 employees in March due to declining console sales, Epic's ongoing legal disputes with Apple and Google, and difficulty delivering "consistent Fortnite magic every season."
Are projects like the Star Wars crossover and Marvel Epic Games inevitable? Should we just get along?
Let's be honest: a Marvel and Star Wars crossover shooter game developed by Epic Games that mainly uses artificial intelligence and generative AI workflows. Check out the very interesting experiment. It's such a rich intersection of pop culture touchstones so pervasive that there's every chance its AI origins are less recognizable than they might otherwise be.
A former owner of id Software says they were definitely using an earlier generation of AI: "It's like John Carmack made Skynet or something."
Capcom announced plans to turn its RE Engine into an AI generation game engine.
Stellar Blade boss doesn't quite understand why people are upset about Blood Rain's AI video: "The AI doesn't create [Evie] from scratch"
Because the AI gradient right now is more like Fortnite, Star Wars, and Marvel. Add Pixar (which Fortnite resembles) and you basically have a steep Mount Rushmore. It is a precipice staring into the abyss.
Sweeney's quote about audiences wishing they were still around in 2016 speaks volumes. The AI industry likes to treat the use of the technology as an inevitability that the naysayers/secretists will just have to deal with, or at least they will when they're not worried the technology might kill us.
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However, horrible things that no one likes have a way of inexorably creeping into our daily lives. Tech companies have platforms that are best equipped to force us to tolerate things we inherently hate. People used to hate posting 'likes' on Facebook - now most of us 'like' things with our mouths shut. When social media feeds weren't feeds anymore, people hated it, so that, for example, weird videos about putting various objects in a meat grinder are now commonplace. The transformation from "a way to make friends" to a "devastating addictive habit" was not appreciated, but it's now the norm anyway.
In other words, the tech industry knows that whether you like it or not: you're going to get what you're given.
Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years of experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared in GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald and more. Special interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games, and FPS. He thinks Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu is an all-time classic that will one day be reevaluated by critics.
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