Epic targeted AI-assisted Fortnite browser recreation with DMCA notice
The Oct. 10 action came as AI-assisted browser ports draw hundreds of copyright complaints across games.
Epic Games issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice on Oct. 10 against a browser-based recreation of Fortnite made with AI-assisted coding. The project allowed players to run Fortnite through a web browser, and notices were also issued against posts featuring it.
The action came amid a rise in so-called vibe-coded ports and recompilations, in which AI tools speed the building of unofficial versions of existing games. Kotaku reported that this wave had prompted hundreds of DMCA notices, with independent games among the principal targets. It recorded notices for open-source versions of “Slay the Spire 2,” “Celeste” and “RimWorld” over a four-week period, although those projects did not themselves contain generative-AI material.
The Fortnite notice has become part of a wider argument over game companies’ use of AI while enforcing their intellectual-property rights against outsiders. Cybernews said AI-assisted coding can shorten the production of copycat games from months or years to weeks. Its reporting also identified similar takedowns involving browser-based or fan-made versions of Minecraft, Call of Duty and Halo.
Epic has drawn a distinction between enforcement of Fortnite rights and policies on AI training. Tim Sweeney, Epic’s chief executive, said the company does not permit use of Fortnite intellectual property without permission or compensation, while arguing that the two debates are separate. In an interview with PC Gamer, he said Epic used AI to reduce programming and art-production drudge work rather than generate complete games from prompts.
Epic has also instructed developers to increase AI use on its delayed Disney and Marvel game project, which is being developed with Anthropic’s Claude, according to Cybernews and Kotaku. The company has demonstrated AI integrations in Unreal Engine for development workflows.
As we reported Oct. 27, Epic plans to remove a current contractual restriction on AI training using outputs from Unreal Engine and MetaHuman, while leaving developers of individual games able to allow or bar training on their own projects. Sweeney said the restriction remains in force while the company works on the change.