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Epic Games sells minority interest to Tencent
Epic Games, creator of the ubiquitous Unreal Engine and major franchises like Gears of War and Infinity Blade, announced this morning a minority stake sale to China's Tencent Holdings.The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but you can be assured it was for a ton of cash (technically speaking). Epic will continue to "operate independently and seek to further expand its game franchises across multiple platforms."Tencent has slowly made strategic purchases in the States, its highest profile acquisition being Riot Games last year, developers of cash-raining League of Legends.The relationship between Epic and a Chinese company will also make it easier for the former to grow in China, a region in which it has been very interested in expanding – with some politically laughable results.
Epic Games China isn't quite part of Epic Games [update: even more info!]
Yesterday, we went to a GDC appointment with "Epic Games China" to see a game called Mercenary Ops. Built in Unreal Engine 3 and filled with Gears of War-esque gameplay, it was revealed as the first project from "Epic Games China." As it turns out, that's not quite true. "Mercenary Ops is being developed by Ying Pei Games, which was formerly Epic Games China. However, as with our many development and publishing partners, they are utilizing Unreal Engine technology," Epic Games' US reps told The Verge.More bizarre? "Ying Pei" in Mandarin means "Epic," making "Ying Pei Games" the equivalent of ... "Epic Games." According to Epic Games (the American one), "We do own a minority stake in Ying Pei Games and we do work with them as with our other Unreal Engine developers, but Epic Games is not developing Mercenary Ops."Additionally, EpicGamesChina.com directs to the Ying Pei website, and we were told by reps yesterday that the studio is a "subsidiary" of Epic Games US. The game's publisher, "Delkans," is brand new to North American publishing and has two mystery owners from the tech sector, making this whole story all the stranger.Update: Epic Games' US reps tell us, "When they first launched the studio we clearly gave them Epic's blessing to call themselves Epic Games China. We were ready to have a more on-the-ground presence in China to reach those developers with our technology more effectively, not to mention we wanted to learn more about that market's needs and its growing talent base."They changed their name in 2010, can't recall which month. We didn't make a big fuss over it because our working relationship hasn't changed. They use our tech, they sell it, they make their own games, nothing new to report." So there's that!Update 2: Ying Pei Games' publisher, Delkans Publishing, issued the following statement to Joystiq this afternoon: "Delkans Publishing, a new North American game publisher, wants to clarify that Mercenary Ops is being developed by Yingpei Games, Ltd., which is formerly known as Epic Games China. Yingpei Games, Ltd. is going through a transitionary phase and will continue to garner support from Epic Games and utilize their Unreal Engine 3 technology. Delkans Publishing will provide further background information on the developer, Yingpei Games, Ltd. in the coming weeks. Delkans Publishing apologizes for any confusion."
Epic Games China bringing Mercenary Ops exclusively to NA/EU computers this summer
There's a whole group of folks at Epic Games China and they're working hard on the first big title from Epic Games' eastern subsidiary. The game, Mercenary Ops, is a ... somewhat derivative third-person shooter built in Unreal Engine 3, which uses cover, blind fire, and active reloading mechanics (from the Gears of War franchise) as main gameplay concepts. Given the "mercenary dudes" setting, the combination of Gears gameplay and bro'd out characters gives it a Gears of War meets Call of Duty feeling, as we discovered during a brief hands-on session today at GDC 2012. So ... yeah, perfectly competent, but not the most original.Perhaps more interesting, the game isn't being published by EGC's American parent company, but instead a brand new North American publisher named Delkans. And what in the world is Delkans? That's a good question -- one that company reps weren't willing to supply an answer for when repeatedly asked during our meeting today. Apparently the publisher is made up of folks from the tech industry, though that's all we could pull out of reps.Mercenary Ops is planned for a summer 2012 launch in North America and Europe, with Asian markets potentially following (Delkans isn't talking solid plans just yet).%Gallery-149855%
Carbon Games formed by Fat Princess devs
Carbon Games is the new Seattle-based, independent development house built by members of Titan Studios, creators of Fat Princess. Titan Studios, which was a subsidiary of Epic Games China, was "gracefully" shuttered a month ago. "Everyone that is starting Carbon is from Titan, but it's only about half of what was left. We are just bringing over the core people at this time. We had some QA, which were really great people, but we can't add people just yet," Carbon Games founder James Green told Joystiq. "We had actually been winding down Titan gracefully for a while. The longterm plan has always been for Epic Games China to exist on their own. We were just in a support/advisory role, which is why we never followed up Fat Princess with anything." Green tells Joystiq that Carbon is in a position where they are self-funded and can experiment. The focus is on smaller, accessible core titles. The initial games will be on PC so the Carbon team can "iterate and get player feedback faster and actually control the patching process." Their first project will not be another Fat Princess -- Green does say they'd like to return to that style in time, but the scope of such a title is bigger than what Carbon is currently working on. The studio plans to begin publicly testing its first project later this year. Folks interested in helping with the process should keep an eye on the company's website.
CCP: Unreal Engine 3 will power Dust 514
EVE Online developer CCP Games has announced a partnership with Epic Games China that will bring Unreal Engine 3 technology to their forthcoming console MMOFPS known as Dust 514. Set in the same universe as their successful PC MMORPG, Dust 514 is a console-only title that will enable players to interact with EVE pilots as they battle for control of New Eden's resource-rich planets. "The dynamic large-scale battlefields of DUST 514 presented an interesting challenge for us," said Hilmar Petursson, CEO of CCP. "We determined Unreal Engine 3 to be the perfect solution because its tremendous flexibility allows us to easily integrate new technology and produce stunning results." Hit the link for the full press release. [Thanks Amethyst Lynx!]
CES Fat Princess vids remind us we really want to play
We've loved the look of Fat Princess since we first saw it at E3. These videos from the CES show floor remind us why. The Castle Crashers meets Wind Waker art style, coupled with the simple (yet deep) team-based gameplay have us itching to try it out for ourselves. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see the game's release on the PSN. We expect this game to be a big PSN hit this year. Check out the videos after the break to find out why for yourselves.
Epic Games China (retroactively?) announces Titan Studios - Fat Princess dev
Try to follow along: In 2006, Epic Games – the North Carolina-based devs behind Gears of War – opened up its very own Shanghai-based studio to outsource its own Unreal Engine-related work to, as well as cater to external third-party licensees like Ubisoft Shanghai. Cost per man month in North America? $9000. Cost per man month in China? $4000, according to a Gamasutra report. So now we all know what Epic Games China is. Which is why this morning's announcement that Epic Games China has formed Titan Studios – a "wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle" developing Sony's colorful (albeit controversial) PSN title, Fat Princess – slightly puzzling. First, we've only known Fat Princess since Sony showed it off at E3 and, even then, the developers were known as "Titan Studios" and not their pre-Epic precursor "Darkstar Industries".Second, why does the "content production outsourcing and game development services" component of Epic Games want to form its own development studio? (Or, in other words, why didn't Epic Games proper "form" Titan Studios in much the same way it acquired People Can Fly?) Epic's Jay Wilbur explains, "Not only are Titan developing award-winning, original IP of their own, they also have resources available to help other studios increase productivity and minimize risk." Their best business advice in these rocky economic times: Be owned by Epic Games.%Gallery-27941%
Fat Princess coming 2009, says developer press release
Many of you have been asking us "where is Fat Princess, oh darn it?" Well, looks like it's 2009. First unveiled at E3 this year, the downloadable title earned a lot of buzz (both positive and negative) for its cute, gory, cake-filled concept.A press release from Epic Games China has officially "announced" the "opening" of Titan Studios, the developer of the upcoming game. There are a few things we're confused by. First, why is Epic Games China opening a studio in Seattle? Last we checked, Seattle wasn't a part of China (unless, that is, the takeover has begun ...). Also, why is the studio being announced now? Maybe that's why Fat Princess is taking so long to develop! The studio wasn't actually official yet!Titan Studios brings to it developers with experience at companies including Ubisoft, Epic Games, Scion Studios, Blizzard Entertainment and Lionhead Studios. Titan Studios is not only working on Fat Princess, but a number of other Unreal Engine 3 games, including a massively multiplayer online game.%Gallery-28044%
