Gameloft's NOVA 3 rumored to be built on Unreal Engine
Gameloft has announced that it has licensed the Unreal Engine for four upcoming games set to be released in 2011 and 2012.
Gameloft hasn't announced which games will be running on the Unreal Engine, but Pocket Gamer seems to believe that one of the titles slated to be released this year is the next followup to the popular, and already impressive looking, sci-fi shooters N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance and N.O.V.A. 2.
Last year, Epic Games started dropping jaws when it released Epic Citadel as a proof of concept showing off the Unreal Engine running on iOS. Epic then followed it up in December with the stunning and widely praised Infinity Blade, a game many have claimed looked as good as current generation dedicated gaming consoles. After all, it's the same engine that powers many blockbuster games, like Gears of War, Bulletstorm and BioShock 2, despite more limited hardware on iOS devices.
Gameloft isn't the first third-party developer to license the Unreal Engine for iOS, but it is one of the largest; the company has a reputation for releasing some of the most polished games you'll find on the platform. There's little question that hardcore-leaning iOS gamers have four good reasons to be excited about Gameloft's future.
In the meantime, if you haven't played through the N.O.V.A. games, now is a great time to do so. Thanks to the Fling, I've been replaying the first title on the iPad; despite its original 2009 release date, it still holds up wonderfully.
[via MacStories]
