Epic goes AI-first as its Disney game is reportedly delayed

Epic’s unannounced shooter with Marvel and Star Wars characters has slipped past its March 2027 target, Bloomberg reports. CEO Tim Sweeney says the company is in a “huge pivot” toward AI.

The Disney game Epic Games has been building behind closed doors just got delayed. And the people making it were told to change how they work.

Epic’s unannounced shooter with Marvel and Star Wars characters won’t hit its old target date, Bloomberg reported Oct. 12. At the same time, Epic told the team to go “AI first,” according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

Epic hasn’t given the team a new date, Inven Global reported.

What is Epic’s Disney game?

It’s an extraction shooter, GamesRadar reported. That’s the kind of game where players drop into a map, grab gear and try to get out alive before someone takes it from them.

Epic hasn’t announced it. Most of what’s known comes from Bloomberg’s reporting.

Back in April, Bloomberg said Epic had three Disney projects in the works, and this one was aimed at November 2026, Engadget reported at the time. By October, the target was March 2027, Kotaku and PC Gamer reported.

Now it’s moving again.

Why was Epic’s Disney game delayed?

Slow progress and understaffed teams, according to Bloomberg’s reporting, as relayed by Kotaku. Inven Global reported that Epic underestimated how many people and how much time the game needed.

GamesRadar tied the delay to the AI push. Kotaku and Inven Global didn’t. They described the AI shift as a separate change.

What does ‘AI first’ mean at Epic?

Developers on the project found out the week before the report, PC Gamer said. They were told to work with AI tools, including Anthropic’s Claude.

A director’s internal message said “No more hand-written code,” according to GamesRadar. Art would be made with AI tools, too.

Many on the team reacted with confusion and shock, Bloomberg reported, according to Kotaku.

Epic communications director Jake Jones told Bloomberg the company is “embracing AI-accelerated development.” He said it’s led by developers who are “the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.”

What did Tim Sweeney say about AI?

Epic’s CEO went public the same day. “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic,” Tim Sweeney wrote on X on Oct. 12.

He said Epic is moving developers around to retool for AI. The goal “isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people,” he wrote.

Asked in a reply whether Epic might speed up plans to go public, Sweeney said Epic’s “more modest aim is to survive the AI revolution,” PC Gamer reported.

Did Disney comment on the delay?

Disney declined to comment, GamesRadar reported. Neither company has officially announced the game.

What is Disney’s $1.5 billion deal with Epic Games?

On Feb. 7, 2024, Disney said it would invest $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic. The two companies said they’d build an “open, persistent and social” Disney universe connected to Fortnite, with characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar.

Then-Disney CEO Bob Iger called it “Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games.”

That universe still hasn’t launched. Here’s how it’s gone since:

• August 2025: The Wall Street Journal reported the Disney project wasn’t expected until fall 2026, with an anonymous source blaming slow decision-making at Disney. Sweeney called that quote “BS.”

• March 2026: Epic laid off more than 1,000 people and said the cuts were not related to AI, the AP reported. It had already cut about 830 jobs in 2023. Epic President Adam Sussman told TheWrap amid the cuts that “the vision is unchanged.”

• September 2026: A Rocket League video showed a redesigned Fortnite launcher with a Disney tile, as we reported Sept. 22.

What Disney characters are already in Fortnite?

Plenty, even without the new game:

• August 2024: a full Marvel season, “Absolute Doom”

• May 2025: “Galactic Battle,” Fortnite‘s first full Star Wars season

• November 2025: a Simpsons season

• August 2026: a Fortnite island tied to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride at Disney parks

Has Epic used AI with Disney characters before?

Yes, and it caused a fight. In May 2025, Fortnite added an AI-voiced Darth Vader that players could talk to, in a voice modeled on James Earl Jones’. Epic used Google’s Gemini and ElevenLabs tools, with permission from Jones’ estate.

Three days later, the actors union SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge against Llama Productions, the Epic company that hires Fortnite‘s voice actors.

How are game developers reacting?

Inside Epic, not well, if Bloomberg’s sources are right. Online, GamesRadar said commenters “aren’t exactly thrilled.”

Not everyone in the industry sees it that way. Genvid CEO Jacob Navok, a former Square Enix executive, posted on X that “It is over for non-AI workflows.”

When will Epic’s Disney game come out?

Nobody’s saying. Epic hasn’t announced the game, and the team doesn’t have a new date.

Bloomberg’s April report also covered two other Disney projects at Epic. One got middling internal reviews, and Epic moved staff and money off the other after reports Disney was disappointed with its timeline, Engadget reported.

Disney fans have waited since 2024 for this universe to show up. Epic hasn’t said how much longer it will be.

Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Hat Tips:

• Bloomberg, Oct. 12, 2026: Epic Games delays Disney project, asks developers to use more AI (Jason Schreier)

• Kotaku, Oct. 12, 2026: Epic’s delayed shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters

• PC Gamer, Oct. 12, 2026: Sweeney says Epic’s aim is to survive the AI revolution

• Inven Global and GamesRadar, Oct. 13, 2026: delay and Epic statement

• Tim Sweeney on X, Oct. 12, 2026; Jacob Navok on X, Oct. 12, 2026

• Engadget, April 10, 2026: Bloomberg’s report on Epic’s Disney projects

• The Walt Disney Company, Feb. 7, 2024: Disney and Epic Games universe connected to Fortnite

• Insider Gaming, Aug. 5, 2025: Sweeney responds to the Wall Street Journal report; Pocket Tactics, March 28, 2026: Adam Sussman to TheWrap

• The Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, March 24, 2026: Epic layoffs

• Fortnite: Absolute Doom (Aug. 16, 2024), Darth Vader (May 16, 2025) and Simpsons (Nov. 1, 2025) announcements; Epic Games, Aug. 15, 2026: Smugglers Run in Fortnite

• Video Games Chronicle, April 21, 2025: Fortnite’s first full Star Wars season

• SAG-AFTRA, May 19, 2025: statement and unfair labor practice filing

• Pirates & Princesses, Sept. 22, 2026: Fortnite’s new launcher has a Disney tile

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