GAMESLASHEpic AI MegaJam starts with Director’s Cut theme; AI agents optional
By GameSlash
Epic revealed the Director’s Cut theme on Nov 11, 2026 and opened its four-day AI-friendly game jam Nov 12. Key rules, submission times and Unreal tips.
Epic Games unveiled “Director’s Cut” as the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam theme on November 11 at 19:37 UTC (November 12, 2:37 a.m. in Thailand). The four-day game-building window opened November 12 at 05:00 UTC (noon in Thailand). This is the theme reveal and contest kickoff, not a second announcement of the event itself. Epic's theme announcement asks developers to revive a feature or idea that never made it into an earlier project.
A theme for the feature that did not make the cut
Epic describes “Director’s Cut” as a chance to bring back a mechanic, feature or creative idea previously left on the cutting-room floor. A team might make one shelved movement mechanic the core of a small playable prototype; that is an editorial example, not a requirement to make a film game. The official itch.io event page says judging considers originality, fun, playable mechanics, presentation and connection to the theme.
Teams can use one to five people and any number of coding agents, but AI is optional. The rules allow either Unreal Engine or UEFN, not both in a single entry. You may prepare agents and editor connections before the contest, but the actual jam game must be built during the contest window, and earlier assets must be disclosed.
What to prepare and how to submit
A practical AI-assisted workflow is to choose one central gameplay idea, set up your editor's MCP toolsets, use agents for discrete implementation tasks, play-test each result at player scale, and keep a log of human edits. Epic also recommends an early test build rather than leaving packaging to the deadline.
For Unreal Engine projects, submit a packaged game through itch.io along with a 30–60-second gameplay video. Experimental browser builds in UE 5.9 MegaJam Preview must follow the jam's web-size limits (500 MB total and 200 MB per file). UEFN teams submit a final private version code rather than a public island or test code. The submission deadline is November 15 at 20:59 EST, equivalent to November 16 at 08:59 in Thailand. Check the official submission instructions before uploading.
The contest advertises US$65,000 in cash prizes plus separate, selective continuation grants of up to US$50,000 per team. Partner AI credits have claim windows and restrictions; some supplied assets, such as WeLoveIndies' free library, require a commercial license for later paid releases.
The Unreal Engine 5.9 MegaJam Preview has new experimental in-editor coding agents and browser exporting, but Epic warns that Preview builds received reduced QA and should be tested on project copies. Sources: theme post, official jam rules and deadlines, Epic announcement.