Epic Games is restructuring its development teams around artificial intelligence, a pivot CEO Tim Sweeney announced on social media, putting the company's $1.5 billion collaboration with Disney at risk.
"We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration," Sweeney wrote. The company has begun reassigning staff and rebuilding its production pipeline around AI tools, a shift Sweeney described as prioritizing "no more hand-written code" and content "generated with full AI workflows."
The Disney partnership, announced in early 2024, was slated to produce a Marvel- and Star Wars-themed shooter. That project's status is now unclear as Epic redirects engineering resources toward AI-driven development.
An Epic spokesperson framed the transition as developer-led. "We're embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers," the spokesperson said, without addressing the Disney game's timeline or scope.
Epic's flagship title, Fortnite, generates billions in annual revenue and depends on a steady stream of new content — character skins, map updates, and seasonal events — that AI tools could produce faster and cheaper than traditional art and engineering teams. The company has also spent years building the Unreal Engine, the game development platform used by studios across the industry, which gives Epic outsized influence over how AI spreads through game production.
The pivot follows a broader push across the gaming industry toward generative AI. Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive have all announced AI initiatives in the past two years, citing production costs that routinely exceed $200 million for major titles. Voice actors and artists have pushed back, with the SAG-AFTRA video game strike that began in July 2024 centering partly on AI protections.
Disney has invested heavily in Epic, taking a $1.5 billion equity stake as part of the partnership. The deal was positioned as a way to bring Disney's intellectual property into Fortnite's ecosystem and build new interactive experiences. Neither Disney nor Epic has confirmed whether the Marvel and Star Wars shooter remains on schedule.
Sweeney's comments did not specify how many employees are being reassigned or whether the pivot involves layoffs. Epic cut roughly 830 jobs in September 2023, about 16 percent of its workforce, after what Sweeney called spending "way more money than we earn."
