Epic Games says it is embracing AI-accelerated development led by its developers
Epic GamesEpic Games spokesperson, in a statement to Bloomberg
An Epic Games spokesperson told Bloomberg the company is embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers whom the statement called the visionaries and creative drivers for everything Epic does.
“We’re embracing AI-accelerated development, led by Epic developers who are the visionaries and creative drivers for everything we do.”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Tim Sweeney says Epic Games is retooling for maximum AI acceleration
Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney said on October 12, 2026 that Epic is moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. Bloomberg reported the same day that an unannounced Epic shooter made with Disney would become an AI-first production with art made through AI workflows. Sweeney says the aim is to let Epic's developers build more and better things, not to do the same work with fewer people. Artist Karla Ortiz and other critics object to AI art trained on artists' work without consent and question the goal.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Video Games Chronicle summary of Bloomberg's report on Epic's AI-first instructions for an unannounced Disney shooter, including the statement an Epic spokesperson gave Bloomberg and Sweeney's X post.
Reporting
About this source
Bloomberg report by Jason Schreier that Epic Games delayed an unannounced shooter made with Disney and told the team behind it that the game would be an AI-first production. The full article is available to Bloomberg subscribers.
Before the quotation
Bloomberg reported that a director on an unannounced Disney shooter told staff the game would be an AI-first production, with no more hand-written code and art generated with full AI workflows.
After the quotation
Video Games Chronicle reported the statement alongside Bloomberg's account and Sweeney's post about the pivot.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Epic Games' move to make AI central to its game development, as Tim Sweeney described it on October 12, 2026 and as Bloomberg reported for an unannounced Disney shooter to be made as an AI-first production. The statement confirms that Epic is "embracing AI-accelerated development" and presents Epic's developers as still leading the work, so we labeled it Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Challenged characterization, because it answers the reported AI-first instructions by stressing that developers lead; it loses because it endorses the shift rather than disputing Bloomberg's account.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseNicole Carpenter questions whether faster game development should be the goal
“And I don't know, man, but do we even want that? Why is that the goal? Hundreds of games are released on Steam each month; more are released on mobile. A lot of it is already pretty bad. Generative AI is making it worse. I don't think the problem with video games is that there aren't enough of them, or that Fortnite content isn't being released fast enough.”Read statement
Aakash Gupta says the game industry's AI fight is mostly for show
“And honestly, the industry's AI fight is mostly for show. Google Cloud found 9 in 10 game developers already use AI agents at work. The debate happens on stage while the usage happens at the desk. So while everyone argues about whether games should use AI, Epic quietly turned it into a checkbox inside the editor. Most developers will click it without ever having the debate.”Read statement
Karla Ortiz tells Tim Sweeney that artistic AI models were trained on artists' work without consent
“Hey, you’re using GenAi for art. Consider this a friendly reminder: All Artistic GenAi models are trained off the works of artists like myself. This was done so without our credit, consent or compensation. Which is why artists like myself are suing GenAi companies.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Epic Games says it is embracing AI-accelerated development led by its developers
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/5699-an-epic-games-spokesperson-told-bloomberg-the-company
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Epic Games says it is embracing AI-accelerated development led by its developers". First published: 2026-10-14. Last updated: 2026-10-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/5699-an-epic-games-spokesperson-told-bloomberg-the-company