All articles tagged with #epic games
Epic Games has settled with a former contractor accused of leaking confidential Fortnite collaborations with IPs such as Minecraft, Ben 10, and Game of Thrones. The agreement includes an injunction prohibiting the contractor from possessing or disclosing Epic secrets, but does not specify compensation or damages, even though Epic sought them in the lawsuit.
Epic Games settled a lawsuit with former contractor Hayden Cohen over alleged leaks of Fortnite partner information. The settlement includes a court-approved injunction barring Cohen from possessing, using, or disclosing Epic’s confidential information and from sharing it with third parties; Cohen also pledged not to leak any more confidential material. Monetary damages were not disclosed in the agreement. Epic had alleged leaks of unannounced collaborations with partners like Minecraft, South Park, Ben 10 and Game of Thrones.
The Supreme Court will hear Apple’s appeal of a contempt finding in the Epic Games dispute over App Store fees and external payment links. Lower courts found Apple violated a 2021 injunction by blocking cheaper payment options, though Apple allowed external links and still charged a 27% commission on those purchases; the Ninth Circuit upheld a fee framework tied to costs and remanded to Judge Rogers, who found contempt in 2025 and halted commissions on external-link purchases. A ruling could reshape global App Store practices, with a decision expected by mid-2027.
Legendary Unreal level designer Sjoerd de Jong leaves Epic Games after 12 years as Unreal Engine 6 is unveiled with heavy AI integration (Claude and Gemini) and UEFN. The move comes amid industry anxiety about AI overtaking game development, though Epic says humans will still guide the process. De Jong’s departure, paired with UE6’s direction beyond UE5.8’s AI-driven world generation, underscores the industry-wide shift toward AI-assisted workflows while he remains optimistic about adapting to the new landscape.
Unreal Engine veteran Sjoerd De Jong has left Epic Games after 12 years, saying the era of his approach has come to a close as the industry reaches a pivotal point. De Jong, who began working with Unreal in 1999 and later led Epic’s evangelism and developer experience before taking a product role, announced his departure last week. His exit comes as Epic previews Unreal Engine 6 with AI integrations (Claude and Gemini) intended to speed tasks like level setup, rigs, lighting, and other content creation, highlighting a broader shift that developers will need to adapt to.
Epic Games announced a ground-up rebuild of the Epic Games Store launcher at Unreal Fest, aiming for a major performance boost with cold starts up to 5x faster and faster restores from the system tray (about 6.5x). The overhaul replaces much of the underlying architecture, with Launcher V2 entering private beta as “Up First” and a public release “Up Next” on the roadmap, alongside storefront improvements; no concrete timelines were provided.
At Unreal Fest, Tim Sweeney warned of a crisis-and-opportunity moment in the game industry, calling out threats from closed ecosystems like Roblox and proposing Team Open—a cross-company alliance—to rebuild a more connected ecosystem. He emphasized that gaming is becoming more social, that the in-game economy favors large, existing ecosystems, and that attention is fiercely competed by platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Epic aims to collaborate with major studios (Disney, Lego) and to leverage Unreal Engine 6 to unite developers, players, communities, and economies across titles, so that games are interconnected rather than isolated products. Fortnite’s 80M MAU underscores ongoing growth, but Sweeney says a collective effort is needed to future-proof the industry.
Epic kicked off State of Unreal 2026 by unveiling Unreal Engine 6 with a three‑part strategy (Verse‑based gameplay programming, open‑standard portability, and a boosted production pipeline via the Model Context Protocol), aiming for cross‑platform live ecosystems with an early access target by end‑2027. UE5.8 is production‑ready with MegaLights, Audio Insights, Dataflow for Chaos Cloth, Live Link Hub, Iris, Movie Render Graph, and Mesh Terrain, plus shader optimizations and 60fps Lumen on Switch 2 and PC; a new Experimental MCP plugin enables Claude/Gemini‑style models to actively collaborate in workflows. Lore, an open‑source version control system, is now available. Epic says UEFN payouts exceed $1B as Fortnite expands with Discover improvements, mobile updates, IP content like Simpsons, and dozens of collaborations planned for 2026–27, while the Epic Games Store grows to 6000+ games with ongoing feature upgrades.”,
Epic Games unveils Unreal Engine 6 with built‑in AI tools, LLMs, and an open MCP foundation to speed content creation and enable cross‑game portability, while developers caution about ownership and costs and warn of a possible Roblox‑like monoculture—Epic defends AI as a productivity boost, even as industry opinion splits and some praise alternative engines amid ongoing company shakeups.
Poncle says it is reviewing its planned Vampire Survivors–Fortnite crossover amid Epic’s GenAI push, casting doubt on whether the deal will move forward as Epic touts AI-assisted asset creation and AI tools in Unreal Engine 6.
Epic Games publicly demonstrates the use of generative AI tools in Fortnite development, showing AI-generated renders and assets that introduce unintended details. Artists then spend time cleaning up the AI’s mistakes, highlighting concerns that GenAI can save time but may sacrifice originality and lead to more work for creators. The video follows prior AI-related incidents in Fortnite and comes after Epic laid off about 1,000 staff, fueling debate about the role of automation in game development.
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 has gone live again after maintenance, with servers back online and players able to jump into the new season’s updates and content as Epic Games completes the downtime window.
Tim Sweeney mocked Gabe Newell’s Steam Deck price hikes with a quip about rising component costs and megayachts, while Epic Games laid off about 1,000 employees, prompting backlash as Valve’s prices rise and Sweeney’s public persona clashes with rivals.
Unreal Engine’s X account posted a Porsche–Fortnite crossover image tied to the Cayenne Turbo Electric. After fans accused it of AI-generation style and noted Riot Games’ logo in the mock-up, the image was deleted and later re-uploaded with a clarification that it was Porsche-produced concept art, not Epic’s final car configurator. The episode raises questions about AI usage and internal QA in branded content.
Epic Games unveiled Unreal Engine 6 with a Rocket League reveal that drew a standing ovation in Paris, signaling a next‑gen, multithreaded engine and a unification of Unreal Engine and Unreal Editor for Fortnite; while some hail the leap, others question the timing and whether Unreal Engine 5’s potential has been fully realized, with a possible UE6 release around April 2028.