Would you play a video game made entirely with AI? The CEO of Epic Games thinks you will, as he just forbade his employees to write code by hand on the company’s next big game, instead pivoting to AI-driven development. Naturally, this caused plenty of backlash online, and both players and the employees reportedly aren’t happy with the decision.
Artificial intelligence has proliferated in virtually every industry, claiming to boost productivity and output for better results. Some employees aren’t so sure, though, as fears mount over job loss and individual autonomy.
‘Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it's not.’
Not to be deterred, AI proponent and CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney is going all in on AI to develop the company’s next big project, an unnamed Star Wars-themed shooter. Disney officially backs the game as part of the company’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games in 2024. Epic Games, of course, is known as the maker of one of the biggest titles on the planet, Fortnite, and the developer of the wildly popular game creation platform Unreal Engine.
Sweeney boldly made the announcement on his X page, writing:
We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration.
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.
Under the new guidance, Epic Games employees will reportedly use Claude to write the underlying code and to create the visual assets found in the unreleased game, in place of handwritten code.
The backlash was almost immediate, with players throwing rocks in Sweeney’s comment section. “Your inability to read the room is really really astounding, Tim,” wrote one user.
“Your employees are wondering how they're going to survive in this nightmare and you can't empathize because you're too far removed from where you began,” said another.
Ever adamant to defend his position, Sweeney hit back with his own retort:
Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it's not. Our job, as the provider of tools and technology to much of the industry, is to design for the present that is and the future that will soon be. Personally I'm optimistic about it and see it as empowering for creators.
Sweeney’s stance is simple. AI is a new technology that, in his eyes, will enable the next generation of game development. He even said as much several days after his announcement:
The games we've long wanted, which didn't exist because they'd cost several times more to make than they'd earn back, will soon become possible. As will the games developers wanted to build, but couldn't with the resources available. It'll be a new golden age of gaming.
That remains to be seen. Gamers notoriously oppose AI, labeling it as “slop” for ripping off other artists’ character designs, art styles, and assets, before reassembling them into original projects that, in the end, aren’t all that original at all. From their perspective, AI is a thief that steals existing IP and regurgitates it into a cheap imitation of real art. They hate it.
To drive this point home, another critic wrote in response to Sweeney’s announcement: “[Billionaires are] used to managing & directing, not making things themselves. Of course they can't see the difference. They don't understand your love for the craft. Keep making personal, beautiful games.”
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INA FASSBENDER/AFP/Getty Images
Sweeney may be optimistic about the future of AI in the gaming industry, but players — the same ones who adamantly oppose this technology today — are the ones he has to win over. Without gamer support, Epic Games doesn’t have a player base or a business.
So far, Sweeney’s combative takedown of AI critics isn’t winning their support, calling the opposition “bulls**t” and throwing insults like “Up yours!” To that, the critic replied, “Your employees are liking my post, they reach out to me all the time. We're just sick of seeing 'adapt or die', we want to choose our own paths just like you did yourself.”
Gamers aren’t the only ones unhappy. Epic Games employees are also reportedly “stunned” by the decision while also confirming that the reports are true.
We reached out to Epic Games for comment on whether other games in its portfolio, like Fortnite, will be given the same AI mandate, or if these new rules are just for the upcoming Star Wars title. We did not receive a response by the deadline.
That said, it’s clear that the company is using AI on other projects. Just last week. Epic Games released a new vibe-coded version of its PC game launcher, boasting faster startup times than Steam. Unfortunately for Epic Games, Valve released a new version of the Steam launcher that beat the startup time of the new Epic Games Launcher just days later.
The new Star Wars title from Epic Games was supposed to be ready by March 2027, though it is now indefinitely delayed, presumably until Epic Games can use AI to fix whatever Sweeney believes was broken. After that, we’ll finally know if AI has any place in the gaming industry, or if this experiment goes up in smoke along with Disney’s $1.5 billion investment.
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