Epic Games has delayed an upcoming shooter featuring Marvel and Star Wars characters while reportedly directing developers to make artificial intelligence a central part of the game’s production. The simultaneous developments raise questions about whether an AI-first workflow can help the project get back on schedule.
According to Bloomberg’s reporting, the unannounced game had been targeting March 2027 but now has no replacement release date. People familiar with the project said Epic underestimated the staffing and time required to complete it. The reporting does not establish that the AI initiative itself caused the delay. Bloomberg also reported that developers were instructed to adopt an “AI first” production model using tools including Anthropic’s Claude. In internal messages reviewed by Bloomberg, one director reportedly told staff, “No more hand-written code,” and said the game’s art would be produced through “full AI workflows.” Under the described approach, human developers would guide and manage AI-generated work.
Epic has confirmed its broader embrace of AI-accelerated development, but the specific instructions for this game have not been announced in a public production plan. An Epic spokesperson told Bloomberg that developers would remain the visionaries and creative drivers behind the company’s projects. The reported shift raises practical questions about quality control, error correction and whether AI-generated assets can meet the consistency demands of a major licensed game. Developers reportedly expressed concerns about how mistakes in AI-generated work would be identified and corrected. Those questions are particularly relevant to a project involving Marvel and Star Wars, two franchises with established creative expectations. The available reporting does not establish whether the new workflow will shorten development or create additional production challenges.
The project is associated with the broader relationship announced by Disney and Epic Games in February 2024. Disney announced planned $1.5 billion investment in Epic alongside a multiyear collaboration to create a connected games and entertainment universe incorporating Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar properties. That announcement did not publicly identify this particular shooter or specify its release schedule. Epic’s AI push also comes months after the company announced layoffs affecting more than 1,000 employees. In its March 2026 statement, Epic attributed the cuts to declining Fortnite engagement and financial pressures, explicitly stating that the layoffs were not related to AI. There is no verified evidence that the shooter’s AI-first mandate was introduced to replace employees affected by those cuts.
For now, the game is delayed, not canceled, and Epic has not announced a new launch date. Whether AI-first production will help the studio complete the project more efficiently remains unresolved. The game could become a significant test of how far generative AI can be integrated into the development of a large-scale, franchise-driven release.