Epic Games announces AI game jam, faces criticism, then changes rules

On October 22, Epic Games announced the AI MegaJam, a contest where people make games using artificial intelligence (AI). But some game developers were unhappy with the announcement. Epic Games changed the rules later that same day.

At first, the event's FAQ, a list of common questions and answers, said everyone had to use AI. After people discussed the rule on social media, Epic Games admitted it was a mistake. The company changed the rules so participants could use AI tools as much or as little as they wanted, or not use them at all.

People criticized the announcement on X and other social media platforms. Some users accused Epic Games of trying to make it seem like AI was needed to create games quickly. People also noticed a mistake in a promotional poster inspired by The Matrix. The hand offering AI in the poster had six fingers.

This happened while Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was strongly promoting AI. Earlier in October, he said the company was moving developers to different jobs to help bring AI tools into its game-making work more quickly.

The AI MegaJam will run from November 12 to 15 on the itch.io platform. Participants will have four days to make a game using Unreal Engine or UEFN. The theme of the contest will be announced on November 11. Along with the online contest, there will be an in-person event in San Francisco from November 14 to 15. People from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI will take part.

The contest has a total prize pool of $65,000. Teams can also receive grants of up to $50,000 each to help them keep developing their games.