Using AI tools in the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam: an Unreal workflow

The dates

The jam runs in Eastern Time. UTC is given so you can convert to your own time zone.

Who can enter

• •Joining: select "Join jam" on the itch.io page. Neither the jam page nor the rules publish a separate registration deadline.
• •Who can enter: you must be 18 or older with an active Epic Games account and live in an eligible country (section 5). Teams are 1 to 5 people, and "There's no limit on agents" (itch.io page).
• •The rules were updated on October 26, 2026: "Updated the Restricted Jurisdictions (removed Brazil, Russia and Turkey)". Residents of Brazil can take part but are not eligible for cash prizes (section 5). Check the current list for your own country before you start.

What the rules say about AI tools

• •AI is optional and open: "Submissions may, but are not required to, use artificial intelligence ("AI") tools in their creation or gameplay, such as writing gameplay code, generating assets, or powering a system within the game." (section 7(a)). The itch.io page puts it as "Use any AI tools you like: coding agents, asset generation, audio, writing, anything."
• •Judging ignores how much AI you used: "The extent of AI use disclosed in a Submission will be considered for context only and will not, on its own, increase or decrease a Submission's score." (section 10)
• •AI output made during the jam is yours: "Content the Entrants generate with AI tools is not considered a sourced asset." (section 15(c))
• •Assets you did not make are allowed if licensed and listed, but they are not scored: sourced assets must be "noted upon submission" and "will not be reviewed or scored" (section 15(c)).
• •No logos: "Submissions may not feature any trademarks (including logos), except (i) in the case of UE Submissions, the Unreal Engine logo" (section 15(d)).
• •The game stands alone: "Submissions should not require any additional software to run." (section 7(f)). UE entries are packaged for Windows (section 1), and content is in English (section 7(i)).
• •No purchase needed: "NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN." (page 1). Nothing in the rules forbids paid tools.

What you can prepare before November 12

Section 7(h) draws the line: "Entrants may prepare AI tools, agent configurations, Model Context Protocol ("MCP") settings, prompt libraries, and scripts before the Contest Period. Sponsor may ask Entrants to provide these materials, or their version control history, to verify compliance. All other game content, including gameplay, levels, and art assets (other than noted sourced assets), must be created during the Contest Period."

In practice that means you write and set up before the jam, and you generate during it:

• •Write a prompt library as plain text: Blueprint system descriptions (pickup, health and damage, timer and score, door and key, enemy patrol), WorldWeaver briefs for small arenas, material descriptions and MotionSmith motion lines. Keep it in version control so you can show its history if Epic asks.
• •Set up your editor tools: install Unreal Engine 5.7 or 5.8, and if you want results applied into your open project, the free Cosindra Desktop app with its CosindraMCP plugin. Epic also points entrants to Unreal MCP in the Unreal Editor (linked under Sources).
• •Create your Cosindra account and learn each tool on throwaway tests. Do not carry graphs, rigs, worlds, materials or motions made before November 12 into your game: they would be pre-made content, not jam work.
• •Plan the budget: credits you spend on practice come from the same balance you will use in the jam (see "What the free start covers").

Step 1: Gameplay graphs with BlueprintStudio

• •Describe one system per prompt from your prompt library, adapted to the theme. Planning a graph is free; check that the plan matches the system you need before you generate.
• •Generate the wired Event Graph for 10 credits. You get T3D for UE 5.7 or 5.8 and a list of what to set up in your project first (variables, input actions, widget Blueprints).
• •Do the setup items, paste the graph into your Blueprint, compile and play. Keep each graph small; a jam game is a few short systems, not one large one.
• •Section 7(e) asks for custom gameplay beyond Epic's starter templates, so build your own systems on top of a template rather than shipping the template as it is.

Step 2: A character on the Manny skeleton with RigMaster

• •Make or generate your humanoid character during the jam and export it as a GLB. A character you bought or downloaded is a sourced asset: list it with its license.
• •Upload it to RigMaster, place the 18 joint markers, and get a rig on the UE5 Manny skeleton for 15 credits, with 5 free polish rounds.
• •Because the skeleton is Manny's, the Manny and Quinn animations from the Third Person template play on your character without an IK Retargeter pass. Humanoids only.
• •Bring it into your project with Apply in UE5 through the free desktop app, or as an FBX download.

Step 3: Terrain with WorldWeaver

• •Write a short brief for the play space: size, landforms, water, paths and where the action happens. Brief Check is free and tells you what the brief is missing.
• •Generate the world for 6 credits and look at it in the 3D preview.
• •Export the UE 5.7 or 5.8 World Pack: a Python builder for quick StaticMesh terrain, or a Landscape folder with heightmaps and import values if you want to sculpt it further. The import guide is linked below.

Step 4: Materials with MaterialForge

• •Describe each surface in plain words. A material costs 4 credits and adjusting its parameters afterwards is free.
• •Use them for your terrain layers, props and the one surface players will look at most.
• •Apply them in UE5 through the desktop app or download the maps for Unreal.

Step 5: Custom moves with MotionSmith

• •Describe one body motion in English, such as a celebration, a hurt reaction or a special attack. A prompt costs 5 credits for all 4 takes.
• •Every take plays on the UE5 Manny skeleton, so it also plays on a character you rigged in RigMaster. Export the FBX for Unreal Engine 5.
• •Gallery motions (10 of them download free) were made before November 12. If you use one, it is a sourced asset: list it in your submission. Your own prompts during the jam are your own content.

What the free start covers

A new Cosindra account starts free with no card: eligible new accounts get 50 one-time signup credits, and the free Starter plan adds 30 credits every month, so the first month has 80 credits. That is the normal free start for everyone; we have no jam codes or extra credits to offer.

One budget that fits 80 credits: 1 rig (your hero character), 3 graphs (core systems), 2 worlds (two terrain attempts), 3 materials (ground, rock and one hero surface), 2 prompts (two custom moves), 79 credits in all.

Starter includes one free download, shared across products. RigMaster's Apply in UE5, through the free desktop app, is never download-locked.

Sourced assets, logos and your dev log

• •Anything you generate with Cosindra during the jam is your own AI-generated content, not a sourced asset (section 15(c)). Nothing to list for it.
• •BlueprintStudio gallery templates, MotionSmith gallery motions and anything else made before November 12 are sourced assets. They are allowed, but list them in your submission, and they are not scored.
• •No Cosindra logo in the game. Section 15(d) allows no trademarks except the Unreal Engine logo for UE entries, and you do not need to credit Cosindra inside the game. Whether naming tools in plain text in a dev log is fine was asked on the forum and had no answer when we read it.
• •Check that your packaged build starts on a machine without Cosindra Desktop or any other tool installed (section 7(f)).
• •Keep a short log as you go: which prompts you used, what each tool made, and what you fixed by hand. It answers any compliance question and is the start of a dev log for the Glass Box prize.

Honest limits

• •Cosindra supports Unreal Engine 5.7 and 5.8. It does not support UEFN, so this workflow is for the UE track only.
• •RigMaster rigs humanoids only. BlueprintStudio writes Event Graphs; it does not build Behavior Tree assets or lay out your widgets.
• •Generated results are a fast first version. Playtest and fix by hand; judges score fun, gameplay, visuals, level design, audio, theme and ambition.
• •Epic says AI tool credits for entrants are "coming soon". Which companies will offer them was not published when we read the page, and Cosindra is not a partner of the jam.

Open the tools

• •BlueprintStudio: gameplay graphs for UE 5.7 and 5.8
• •RigMaster: a rig on the UE5 Manny skeleton
• •WorldWeaver: terrain from a written brief
• •WorldWeaver import guide: quick builder or native Landscape
• •MaterialForge: materials from a description
• •MotionSmith: motions on the Manny skeleton
• •Cosindra Desktop: applies results into your open UE 5.7 or 5.8 project

Sources

Rules, dates and quotes on this page come from these pages, read on October 28, 2026. Cosindra facts come from our own product. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Epic Games.

• •Official Rules (PDF): last updated October 26, 2026; the section numbers on this page refer to it
• •2026 Epic AI MegaJam on itch.io: dates, how to join, tools, prizes
• •Epic forum announcement: the staff post and FAQ
• •Epic forum announcement, second thread: staff answers, including "using AI is optional"
• •Epic docs: Unreal MCP in the Unreal Editor

Frequently asked questions