Throughout The State of Unreal keynote at Unreal Fest on Wednesday, Epic Video games revealed simply the way it’s embracing generative AI in Unreal Engine (UE). Together with providing the primary particulars on Unreal Engine 6 (UE6), the corporate mentioned new options for Unreal Engine 5.8, which it additionally launched on Wednesday. As a part of the most recent replace, Epic is providing an experimental Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) plugin that can enable builders to hook gen AI fashions resembling Claude and Gemini into Unreal Engine. It is seeking to make the MCP an integral a part of UE6.
Marcus Wassmer, the pinnacle of Epic’s growth workforce, wrote in a weblog publish that the gen AI fashions can act as “creativity and productiveness multipliers in order that groups can focus their efforts on the important inventive and technical duties of growth reasonably than time on time-consuming guide duties.”
The weblog publish went on to state that, “our aim for UE6 is to significantly scale back the tedious work in authoring content material to go away extra time for inventive exploration, and improve the quantity of iterations a workforce could make to shine their content material. UE6 will ship with instruments and workflows the place you’ll be able to select to deliver your individual favourite fashions, battletested in opposition to inside growth and in UEFN [Unreal Engine for Fortnite].”
Unreal Engine 5.8 ships at this time with experimental MCP server assist:
Your sources, your pipeline and your workflow—merely configure the MCP plugin and connect with any agent. Get accustomed to the MCP server and the PCG Primitive Plugin at this time and see what groups can construct collectively:… pic.twitter.com/Ca5yZIH443
— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) June 17, 2026
Epic gave an illustration of Claude Code connecting to UE, then pulling objects from an asset library and inserting them in a digital front room. Builders can nonetheless transfer the objects round manually within the UE editor.
The corporate additionally confirmed how a developer would possibly use Claude Code in UE to construct a metropolis that may be robotically adjusted as belongings like parks are added. Together with modifying belongings, gen AI fashions can regulate components like lighting and match atmospheric circumstances to real-world examples.
In a video exhibiting off Unreal Engine 5.8, Epic advised that builders may use the likes of Claude to “automate asset creation, testing and optimization. The plugin can entry core UE techniques resembling blueprints, belongings, ranges, supplies, meshes and plenty of extra.”
It should not be an excessive amount of of a shock that Epic goes all in on gen AI in UE6. Again in November, CEO Tim Sweeney advised {that a} “made with AI” tag could also be “related to artwork reveals for authorship disclosure, and to digital content material licensing marketplaces the place consumers want to know the rights scenario. It is mindless for recreation shops, the place AI might be concerned in almost all future manufacturing.”
In January, the Sport Builders Convention revealed its 2026 State of the Sport Trade report, which was primarily based on a survey of greater than 2,300 recreation business staff. Of these, 36 % mentioned they had been utilizing gen AI instruments as a part of their job. Most of these utilizing such instruments had been doing so for analysis and brainstorming (81 %) but additionally for duties like prototyping (35 %). Nevertheless, 52 % of respondents mentioned they thought gen AI was dangerous for the business. That determine was up from 30 % within the 2025 version of the survey and 18 % in 2024. Solely seven % mentioned it was having a constructive affect.
Elsewhere at Unreal Fest, it emerged that Epic is merging Unreal Engine 5 and UEFN right into a single platform in UE6. One different factor that the corporate is testing is the flexibility to tug Fortnite skins into different UE6 video games, and to let builders transfer their skins within the different path. The corporate goals to launch UE6 in early entry in late 2027, with a full launch lined up for round 12-18 months later.
Epic had some information to share about collaborations as nicely. These creating Fortnite experiences utilizing UEFN will quickly be capable to make video games primarily based on The Simpsons, simply as they’ll at the moment do with Star Wars IP. The corporate additionally revealed that greater than 30 gaming collaborations are lined up for Fortnite this yr, together with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Vampire Survivors, Management Resonant and Phantom Blade Zero.
Nevertheless, Vampire Survivors developer Poncle seems to have considerations about Epic’s embrace of gen AI. “Following at this time’s information about gen AI utilization by Epic to create all type [sic] of recreation belongings, together with Fortnite characters, we’re at the moment ‘reviewing’ our collaboration with Fortnite,” Poncle said on Reddit. “We’ll let you recognize if something strikes ahead.”
