# Epic announces a four-day AI game jam for Unreal Engine and Fortnite creators, with $65,000 in cash prizes and grants of up to $50,000.

> Epic's 2026 AI MegaJam runs Nov 12 to 15 for Unreal Engine and UEFN, with $65,000 in cash prizes and grants of up to $50,000.

Published 2026-10-22T17:25:03-07:00 · AI for 3D · Canonical: https://news.littlewolflabs.com/posts/2026-10-22-epic-ai-megajam

On Thursday, Oct 22, Epic Games announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, a game jam that runs from Nov 12 to 15 ([Unreal Engine](https://www.unrealengine.com/news/2026-epic-ai-megajam)).



A game jam is a contest where you build a small game from scratch on a theme in a few days. You can build in Unreal Engine or in UEFN, the editor for making Fortnite islands, on a team of up to five people plus as many AI agents as you like. You can take part online, through local groups, or in person on Nov 14 and 15 at Digital Jungle in San Francisco, where Epic says teams from Anthropic, Google, Meshy, OpenAI and SpaceXSI will also be building. The theme is revealed on a kickoff livestream on Nov 11 at 11 AM PT, and in-person sign-ups open Nov 1 at 7 AM PT. The jam page lists $65,000 in cash prizes, and you must be 18 or older with an Epic account ([itch.io](https://itch.io/jam/2026-epic-ai-megajam)). Main prizes are $7,500, $5,000 and $2,500 for the best Unreal game, the best UEFN game and the best student game. Extra awards include $2,500 for the best development log and $2,500 for a UEFN game with NPCs powered by a language model. Top teams can also win grants of $50,000, $25,000 or $10,000 for each engine to keep building their game. Entries are due Nov 15 at 5:59 PM PT with a 30 to 60 second gameplay video, winners will be named by Jan 29, 2027, and you keep ownership of your game. The rules also say you can't start building before Nov 12 and must declare any prompts, scripts or assets you made earlier.



The FAQ first said you had to use AI, but about 90 minutes after the announcement Epic said that was a mistake: "You can use as little or as much AI as you want" ([Unreal Engine on X](https://x.com/UnrealEngine/status/2113371600170946773)).



*Try it:* if you want to enter, set up your AI coding tools with Unreal or UEFN before Nov 12. Epic recommends an MCP setup, the standard way to connect AI apps to outside tools, so your agent can work inside the editor. Practice a small build first, since starting the real project early isn't allowed.