Epic Games has reportedly delayed its unannounced Disney game set in the Fortnite Metaverse indefinitely as the studio pushes its team to embrace generative AI in every aspect of game development.
New reports suggest the game will be a shooter featuring Star Wars and Marvel characters, likely developed as part of Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games in 2024. The deal features a collab between Epic and Disney to build an “entertainment universe” and bring Marvel, Star Wars, and other Disney universes to the Fortnite Metaverse.
According to Bloomberg’s October 12, 2026, report, Epic Games will now use an “AI-first” approach, leveraging tools such as Anthropic’s Claude to develop Fortnite’s Disney Metaverse, originally slated for release in March 2026. The game currently has no release date, and the studio has asked developers to manage, supervise, and fix the AI’s errors.
Bloomberg reports that one of the directors of the upcoming Disney game in the Fortnite Metaverse told staff in an internal message that the team would write “No more handwritten code” and generate all the game’s art using AI.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney shared a message about the studio’s shift to AI on X: “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.”
Speaking of employees, Epic Games laid off 1000 employees in March 2026, and multiple Fortnite modes went offline due to funding issues. So, the move to AI isn’t surprising, but it is very disappointing.
Furthermore, the Fortnite Disney metaverse shooter mentioned in the report could be the rumored Fortnite Disney extraction shooter, since the Battle Royale has characters from both Star Wars and Marvel.
Currently, Epic Games hit a home run in Fortnite, securing major collabs for Fortnitemares, including Five Nights at Freddy’s, Slenderman, and more. However, with this news, you can expect Epic Games to enforce AI not just in Fortnite’s upcoming Disney Metaverse shooter but also in base Fortnite itself.
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