NetherRealm and Rocksteady using Unreal Engine 3 for 'the next few years'
Epic's Unreal Engine 3 will power any games developed by Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham City) and NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat) through 2014 as part of a deal announced today by parent company Warner Bros. Interactive. Sure, the news in and of itself isn't all that exciting, but it does hint at the future of the Unreal Engine and the timeframe for the dawn of the next console generation.
Specifically, this news would suggest that we're not going to see Unreal Engine 4 for at least a couple of years. Given that Epic has said UE4 is being targeted "exclusively" at next-gen consoles, it gives us some insight into when Epic -- and developers -- are expecting to be creating games for successors to PS3 and Xbox 360. Sometime around, say, 2014?
Of course, there's no saying Unreal Engine 3 won't be used for next-gen games -- one look at the GDC 2011 demo of new UE3 features and it's obvious the engine still has a lot of miles left on it.
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WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LICENCES EPIC GAMES' UNREAL ENGINE 3
NetherRealm Studios and Rocksteady Studios Will Utilize
Engine Exclusively Through 2014
Burbank, Calif. - March 17, 2011 - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced a long-term studio-wide license agreement with Epic Games to use the award-winning Unreal Engine 3.
The development software will be available for any team developing a Warner-published game across PC, console and mobile platforms and, through 2014, will be the exclusive game engine used on projects being developed by Rocksteady Studios who are currently working on Batman: Arkham City and developed the critically acclaimed hit Batman: Arkham Asylum for WBIE/DC Entertainment, and NetherRealm Studios, the team behind award-winning Mortal Kombat franchise for WBIE.
"Unreal Engine 3 is one of the leading development tools available for today's creative teams and it is a perfect fit for both NetherRealm and Rocksteady," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Mortal Kombat and Batman: Arkham City use the engine's state-of-the-art capabilities to provide the important foundation in bringing gamers the experience they are looking for."
"We're very excited that the talented production teams at NetherRealm and Rocksteady will continue to make Unreal Engine 3 their exclusive core technology for the next few years to create the exceptional titles they are so known for," said Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games. "We look forward to seeing how the engine will contribute to the upcoming games from these teams and potentially other Warner teams and external developers who develop or publish with Warner."
