Vampire Survivors dev may ditch Fortnite over AI stance

Epic Games’ State of Unreal showcase had no shortage of big reveals, but the headline grabber was a Fortnite collaboration with Vampire Survivors. Less than a day later, that crossover already looks shaky.

Generative AI takes centre stage

Alongside the showcase, Epic put out a blog post called “The Road to Unreal Engine 6,” dedicated almost entirely to praising generative AI tools and how they’ll shape development on the new engine.

The post claimed AI could tighten iteration loops and cut down on manual work, from building levels and rigging characters to adjusting lighting and skinning bone weights. Epic went a step further, stating it sees large language models and tools such as Claude and Codex playing a central role in how developers create content going forward. Epic framed Unreal Engine itself as the substrate underpinning that AI-assisted future, the runtime meant to carry the industry’s best games regardless of platform.

Vampire Survivors dev Poncle isn’t convinced

Vampire Survivors developer poncle responded directly on the game’s Reddit page, saying the studio is now “reviewing” its Fortnite tie-up in light of Epic’s gen-AI comments. The team confirmed it would share an update once a decision had actually been made, leaving the crossover hanging in limbo for now.

Unreal Engine 5 has become the default for huge swathes of the industry, and Unreal Engine 6 looks poised to follow that pattern. But Epic’s open embrace of generative AI has already cost it goodwill with at least one partner, and poncle is unlikely to be the only studio weighing up whether that trade-off is worth it.

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