Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, is making what its CEO called a “huge pivot” toward using artificial intelligence in game development.
CEO Tim Sweeney shared the news in a series of posts on X. He said developers are being moved to “retool for maximum AI acceleration.”
BBC Newsbeat reported the announcement on October 13, 2026. The BBC said it had contacted Epic Games about its increased use of AI.
Disney Project Reportedly Delayed
The news follows a Bloomberg report that Epic delayed the release of a collaboration with Disney. The project is said to feature characters from Star Wars and Marvel.
Details about that game have not been announced. Bloomberg reported that developers were asked to use AI tools to finish it.
According to Bloomberg, directors told staff there would be “no more hand-written code.” The report said all of the game’s art would be “generated with full AI workflows.”
Sweeney did not publicly comment on the Disney project. He did, however, share more details about the company’s AI plans online.
Sweeney Responds to Critics
Sweeney said the goal was not “to do the same stuff with fewer people.” He said AI would give developers tools to build “more” and “better stuff,” which he called “empowering” for creators.
Some people reacted angrily to his posts. One reply on his X thread, which received 14,000 likes, accused him of not being able to read the room.
Sweeney replied that “much of the room wants it to be 2016, but it’s not.” He said Epic’s job, as a tools provider for much of the industry, is to design for the present and the near future.
He described the shift as a “modest aim to survive the AI revolution.” He said it would lead to “making better code and content faster.”
The move comes six months after Epic confirmed it was laying off more than 1,000 employees. At the time, Sweeney blamed the job cuts on a “downturn” in Fortnite engagement, not AI.
Game designer Lisha Howen, 23, said she “isn’t completely against AI.” She does not work for Epic, but she disagrees with using AI to fully generate artwork and graphics.
She said some developer friends use AI to help write code. She added that many game industry artists avoid it because they feel it is taking away their jobs.
“You can tell when something’s been generated by AI, it looks terrible, it’s cheap, and it’s making people lose their jobs and lose their income,” she said.
AI use in Fortnite has drawn complaints before. In 2025, actor union Sag-Aftra filed a complaint over the use of AI to recreate the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader in the game.
Howen, who also streams Fortnite, does not expect players to leave. She said the core player base “don’t really care about the external politics of it all.”
Epic Games had not publicly commented on the reported Disney delay at the time of the BBC report.
