Epic Games goes "AI first" and launches AI generation contest

Epic Games is pivoting to an "AI first" production model, with CEO Tim Sweeney saying teams are being retooled for maximum AI acceleration and "no more hand-written code." The company also ran a contest for Unreal Engine developers to produce the best AI-generated content.

• Sweeney says the goal is to build "more and better stuff," not to cut staff
• Developers were told there will be "no more hand-written code"
• Epic delayed a Disney project and moved it to AI-driven production
• The Unreal Engine contest drew criticism over AI images with six-fingered hands