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Epic Plans to Let AI Train on Unreal Engine and MetaHuman Outputs
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the company is working to remove a EULA restriction on AI training with Unreal Engine and MetaHuman outputs. No timeline has been set.
Epic Games is moving to lift a restriction in its license terms that bars AI training on outputs made with Unreal Engine and MetaHuman. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the company is working to remove the restriction, but no timeline or new wording has been published yet.
What was announced
Game Developer reports that Epic is updating its end-user license agreement (EULA) to allow AI training on outputs from Unreal Engine and MetaHuman, the company's character creation tool. According to that report, the current EULA does not allow any output from either product to be used for AI training.
Sweeney confirmed the direction in a post on X, writing: "we are working to remove this restriction from EULA terms." He also made clear that individual games built with the tools are released under terms their developers choose, and those terms can allow or restrict AI training.
The announcement has no effective date, and the new license language has not been shared. Game Developer contacted Epic for more information and had not received a response at publication.
The timing is notable. Game Developer says the news followed a Kotaku report on October 26 that criticized Microsoft and Epic for embracing AI in their own development while shutting down user-made, AI-coded recreations of their games. Sweeney responded at length, arguing that Fortnite IP is protected by copyright and licensing rather than being the same situation. The EULA news also fits a broader push at Epic toward what Game Developer describes as an "AI-first" development model.
Key details
- Company: Epic Games
- Products covered: Unreal Engine and MetaHuman outputs
- Current rule: Outputs cannot be used for AI training under the current EULA
- Planned change: Remove the restriction, with final wording not yet published
- Effective date: Not announced
- Game licensing: Each game's developer chooses its own AI-training terms, per Sweeney
- Epic response: No comment to Game Developer at publication
What is still unconfirmed
- The exact new EULA language and how broadly it applies
- When the change takes effect
- Whether any restrictions will remain for MetaHuman-specific assets, which we could not confirm from the reports we reviewed
What it means for developers
- Read the current terms before you build a pipeline. Engine license changes can affect what your team is allowed to do with output. Check the EULA before using AI tools on Unreal Engine content.
- Decide your own AI-training position. Sweeney's comment that each game's developer sets its terms means your studio should choose and publish its own policy, in store pages and contracts where relevant.
- Audit MetaHuman assets. Character outputs may carry separate rules, so review them before reusing them in datasets or AI workflows.
- Plan for disclosure rules. Sweeney criticized Valve's Steam requirement for AI disclosure, which Kotaku reported he called "political" and "abhorrent." Steam declarations still need accurate answers at launch.
- Wait for the final text. Until Epic publishes the revised EULA, treat the current restriction as in force and avoid changes that depend on the new wording.
