No more hand-written code: Fortnite maker Epic Games is moving towards AI first production

Epic Games wants developers to double down on AI, including AI-written code. The Fortnite maker has instructed its employees to pivot towards an "AI first approach" with more AI tools being used in production. This comes as the company delays the release of an upcoming video game collaboration with Disney.

As per a report from Bloomberg, developers on the Disney-linked game have been told to adopt an "AI first" production model with tools like Claude. In an interview memo, one of the game's directors told staff, "No more hand-written code." Rather, humans are supposed to manage and guide the production work. The director also said all the artwork for the game would be "generated with full AI workflows."

The Disney-linked project is believed to be a shooting game featuring characters from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. It was originally planned for release in March, but the new release date is expected to come later.

The shift comes as Epic moves more broadly towards what chief executive Tim Sweeney described as a "huge pivot" towards AI. In a post on X, Sweeney said the company is "moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration." However, Tim Sweeney insisted that it would not use AI to cut jobs. "The aim isn't to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal," he wrote.

In March this year, Epic Games laid off about 1,000 employees, accounting for 20 per cent of its global workforce. This was part of an internal overhaul that was projected to bring a cost saving of over $500 million.

Employees left stunned

The report adds that developers were left stunned following the announcement by the company during a video call last week. Some reportedly joked over telling Claude to fix its own errors, and how they may handle AI-generated errors as a whole. Some even hoped that the company may make a U-turn on this decision.

Defending the decision on X, Tim Sweeney claimed that Epic Games was not alone. Instead, he said that many were adapting to the AI era this way. "Our more modest aim is to survive the AI revolution, help other developers do the same, and come out on the other end making better code and content faster," he wrote in a reply on X.

In recent months, tech companies have been pushing for greater AI use. Previously, OpenAI and Uber have said that AI was now writing the majority of the code internally. Though some, like Microsoft and Meta, have begun decreasing reliance on AI tools like Claude due to rising costs.