Fortnite developers are exploring how to use AI systems to potentially make games more efficiently, but it’s not being done with the ambition of replacing human workers, according to an Epic employee. Stephanie Arnett, who is a senior external development manager at the company, said recently that Epic has been “exploring different AI tooling that we can use to help support our games.”
Speaking at a Gamescom Latam panel attended by GamesRadar, Arnett went on to say she understands that “everyone’s biggest fear” is that “AI is going to take all our jobs.”
“That’s not our goal. The goal is to make us more efficient,” she said, offering up an example that, with the use of AI, developers might be able to complete tasks more quickly. She did not give specifics, but said Epic’s experimentation with AI so far has included work “in the art realm as well.”
That part specifically is particularly upsetting some in the Fortnite community, as fans generally do not want to see art in their games made with generative AI. Some studios do this already, as Activision has disclosed that some assets for Call of Duty are made with generative AI. Fortnite is another hugely popular live-service game with new content coming out all time, so it only makes sense that Epic would consider using new technologies to work faster and more efficiently.
Epic has already invested in certain AI technologies, as the company partnered with the James Earl Jones estate to release an AI-powered Darth Vader in Fortnite that players could talk to. Early on, players got Vader to use profanity, but this was quickly fixed.
Earlier this year, Epic laid off more than 1,000 people and closed multiple games because it was “spending significantly more than we’re making.” Epic also announced a $500 million cost-savings plan that will see cuts to contract work and marketing.
There has been plenty of pushback against the use of generative AI in game development, but a 2026 study said it is a vocal minority making a lot of noise about the issue. The study found that the majority of players do not care, but the same study also found that a growing share of people say they are more likely than before to refuse to buy a game if they found out it uses generative AI.
In other AI news, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick recently said his company is exploring how it can use AI to make games more efficiently against the backdrop of ever-increasing game budgets.
Sony, meanwhile, recently said Uncharted and The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog is currently using an AI system that can do work that used to take hours in a fraction of a second.
