October 14, 2026, 9:57 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Artificial intelligence is now also changing the development of major video games. Epic Games, for example, plans to integrate AI much more into its workflows. At the developer of “Fortnite,” tools like Claude from Anthropic are expected to generate program code and graphics in the future.
People are not disappearing from the development process because of this. However, their role is changing. Instead of writing code themselves, they are to assign tasks to the AI, check results, and make changes if necessary. Epic Games emphasizes that creative decisions and control should remain with the developers. However, they will no longer write the code themselves.
Employees Have Doubts About the AI Approach
As the magazine “Bloomberg” reports, the new “AI first” approach within the company apparently does not only meet with enthusiasm. Developers reportedly doubt whether large games can actually be completed in this way.
A practical problem is bugs. If Claude generates faulty code, developers must be able to identify and correct it. To do this, they must first understand the logic behind the script afterward. This can cost additional time and resources. Thus, the system does not work without human expertise.
Also of interest: Fortnite returns to the U.S. App Store
Disney Project Delayed
The change in course comes at an important time. Disney invested around $1.5 billion in Epic Games in 2024. New gaming experiences are planned around well-known brands like Marvel and Star Wars. The first major project is already underway but is progressing more slowly than expected. A launch originally planned for March 2027 has been postponed indefinitely.
At the same time, Epic Games recently made significant job cuts. About 1,000 employees had to leave because “Fortnite” is struggling in terms of revenue. CEO Tim Sweeney still sees AI as a productivity boost and expects significantly higher team efficiency. Whether AI can actually bring large games to market readiness faster is likely to make the Disney project a particularly interesting test case.