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Epic keen to add console support to Unreal Engine 4 subscription model
Epic Games' new, surprisingly inexpensive subscription model for Unreal Engine 4 development drastically lowers the requirements for those hoping to create PC games, but the announcement left fans wondering if Epic might do the same for developers eyeing the console side of things. When asked if Epic had any plans to add console support to its Unreal Engine 4 subscription model, studio co-founder Mark Rein responded in the affirmative. "[W]e'd love to," Rein tweeted in reply. "For now you need to be authorized by MS and/or Sony first." "But I need to stress that UE4 already runs amazingly on XboxOne and PS4," Rein immediately added. "Lots of devs are already making UE4 games on those platforms." As Rein illustrates, while Epic are working to lower the barrier of entry to game development, in a closed, proprietary system like a gaming console, the console's manufacturer holds all of the real power. Until Microsoft or Sony decide to kick open the gates, expect the status quo regarding who is able to develop console games to remain largely stagnant. [Image: Epic Games]
Sony, Microsoft going 'heavily' on free-to-play next-gen, says Epic VP Rein
Sony and Microsoft are telling developers they're "going heavily" on free-to-play and in-app purchasing models with their next-gen consoles, according to Epic Games VP Mark Rein. Speaking in a roundtable discussion at the UK's Game Horizon conference, Rein said both companies will take on the kinds of financial models seen on mobile devices. "The next-gen consoles are going to be fully embracing the free-to-play and these IAP-type business models," Rein told the audience, "So in case you don't know that I'm putting that out there. Sony and Microsoft are both going heavily in that area." Roundtable chair Matt Martin of GamesIndustry International said that's what both platform holders are saying, but that "we still need to see some kind of evidence." Rein replied, "Well, I'm telling you. I'm telling you what they're telling developers."
Unreal Engine 4 not designed to work on Wii U [Update]
Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 won't support the Wii U, Epic VP Mark Rein said during GDC. During a theater presentation of the Infiltrator demo, Rein laughed and said "no" when asked if UE4 would run on Wii U."Our goal for Unreal Engine 4 console-wise is next-gen consoles," he explained to Kotaku. "That's really what our energies are focused on. If you want to make a Wii U game, we have Unreal Engine 3, and it's powering some of the best games on the Wii U already."Battlefield series executive producer Patrick Bach told Eurogamer this week that not only is Battlefield 4 not coming to Wii U, the new Frostbite 3 engine on which it runs is also not designed for Wii U. "We right now don't have support for the Wii U in the Frostbite engine," he said. "The reason for that is it takes development time."Update: Rein spoke with Engadget and clarified his comment from the presentation, noting that it's totally possible to run Unreal Engine 4 games on Wii U. "You heard the stupid gaffe yesterday about the Wii U," he said. "If someone wants to take Unreal Engine 4 and ship a game on Wii U, they can! If they wanna ship an Unreal Engine 4 game on Xbox 360, they could make it happen."
Unreal Engine 3 Citadel app runs on Linux now
Rejoice, Linux users. You can now run the Epic Citadel app using Google's Chrome browser – specifically, the Chrome 21 release with built-in support for Stage 3D hardware acceleration can. Up until now it's been impossible to run Unreal Engine 3 on Linux because Adobe had stopped supporting its Adobe Flash Player 11, a supported Unreal Engine 3 platform and the only other viable solution for Linux users.Google has continued to support Flash in its Chrome browser, however, bringing us to today. It's not the most ideal solution, but at least now it's a possibility. Just don't expect Epic Games to start officially supporting Linux anytime soon, even though Unreal Engine 3 ships with Linux code for developers. "While Linux is not an officially supported Unreal Engine 3 platform, Epic provides Linux code to licensees via our own games that have utilized dedicated servers, and our licensees can ship UE3 games on Linux," Rein says. "We can confirm that users can run the UE3-powered Epic Citadel app, available at www.unrealengine.com/flash, on Linux machines, as Flash as a web solution works seamlessly across platforms. Epic continues to license Unreal Engine 3 for nine officially supported platforms, including Flash and Mac, and we have no additional plans for Linux to confirm at this time."
Epic Games now wholly owns Gears of War: Judgment dev People Can Fly
When Epic Games subsidiary People Can Fly lost three senior employees this past week, Epic Games apparently purchased the rest of the Poland-based development studio. "One of the things that got missed with that story was that we bought the rest of People Can Fly that we didn't own. We didn't announce that, so that was also part of it," Epic Games VP Mark Rein told us this afternoon at GDC Europe."But now we own it all. We had a controlling stake, but the owner still owned a fairly large piece of it," he said. As it turns out, those owners were the folks who left to do something different – despite being in the middle of developing the next Gears of War game, Judgment. "They left, they're gonna do their own thing. They have something cool they're gonna do, and we'll be very supportive of it," Rein added.It's unknown how much Epic Games paid for the rest of its stake in People Can Fly.
Epic's Mark Rein on UE4, Epic Baltimore and Gears of War: Judgment
Given the engine's dynamic illumination features, it's only appropriate for Epic Vice President Mark Rein to start lighting up when he starts talking about Unreal Engine 4. We spoke to Rein on the last day of E3 about the engine's possibilities, and how its robust developer toolset addresses the dangerous costs of game development.Rein also comments on the multinational efforts behind Gears of War: Judgment (with special mention of People Can Fly's Creative Director, Adrian Chmielarz) and the recent addition of Epic Baltimore to the family.
Epic's Rein on Epic Baltimore and saving 'awesome guys' from 38 Studios' Big Huge Games
Epic Baltimore, the new studio formed by Epic Games from the senior staff of 38 Studios' Big Huge Games, was a surprise announcement this past Sunday. Well, it's not like there was much warning for anyone, really, as Epic's VP and co-founder Mark Rein explained to us today at E3, giving much of the credit regarding the studio's creation to Epic president Mike Capps."Mike is the total hero there. They called him on Wednesday, interested in using one of our IPs. He flew them up the next day and they met with a whole bunch of people, and the board of directors of Epic. We made the call right there: 'These guys are awesome, we need to work with them.'""We don't have a final headcount yet. It's a decent number," Rein replied when asked about how many of the approximately 100 employees of Big Huge Games were going to be employed by Epic Baltimore. He told us they already had 40 resumes from BHG employees before the deal even went through. "Many of the people there had already gone on to places. This was just the core group of really experience guys who already had savings saved up that they tried to build a team and find a deal."Rein also emphasized that they "wanted to work with one of Epic's IPs" and "it was a very good, natural fit."With Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2 already in pre-production, we asked if Rein had any interest in buying Amalur from Rhode Island?"We don't buy IP, we make IP."
Epic: Consoles must be 'bleeding edge' in next generation
Epic believes that the next round of home consoles will have to be "bleeding edge" if the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo want to stay relevant in the video game market. Speaking to CVG, Epic VP Mark Rein noted that the publisher is "pushing" console makers to use the best possible hardware. "Because if they don't," said Rein, "Apple will go right past them."He added that console gaming is about console makers "delivering something that's way out past the bleeding edge" and making their investment back with software royalties. If console makers don't opt for the latest and greatest tech, he said, there's a chance that consumers "won't want to take the leap" to future consoles.In Rein's view, it's Epic's job to push console makers with advanced technology demos like the "Samaritan" video shown at GDC 2011 (above). Incidentally, Rein isn't worried that console makers will under-deliver with the next generation, believing that they will instead "blow us all away." With Unreal Engine 4 aimed at next generation consoles, and assuming UE4 is even more impressive than the UE3-powered Samaritan demo, we certainly hope he's right.
Unreal Engine 4 to be seen 'later this year,' says Mark Rein
Epic's Mark Rein did some hit-and-run teasing at DICE last week, telling G4 that "people are going to be shocked later this year when they see Unreal Engine 4 and how much more profound an effect it will have." We've heard before that Epic is working hard on Unreal Engine 4, and while Epic doesn't expect to see games running on the engine until 2014, it makes a lot of sense that Rein would want to show it off, especially if we also see some next-gen console reveals later on this year.As for what it'll look like, we can only say (and sorry for all of the technical jargon on this one) that it will probably look "very good." How do we know? Because 4 is higher than 3, silly. You probably wouldn't understand.
Epic's Tim Sweeney being inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the 16th inductee to its Hall of Fame, a catalog which already contains literal game-changers like Peter Molyneux, Sid Meier and Will Wright. To be added to that list during the Interactive Achievement Awards at the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit in February: Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney. You've almost certainly heard of him -- if not, you've definitely heard of the Unreal Engine, which he helped create. If you haven't heard of that, what is wrong with you? The Interactive Achievement Awards, which will be presented February 9, will see Epic VP Mark Rein bestowing the honor upon Sweeney. We anticipate that his speech will include humorous jabs at one or more of Sweeney's lesser-known idiosyncrasies, as well as a heart-touching stanza about how he's not just a good boss, but a great friend. We're getting a little choked up just thinking about it.
It's not just you: Epic aware of Infinity Blade 2 issues on iPod Touch, iPad 1
Hey, did you know that Infinity Blade 2 launched on the iOS App Store yesterday? If you didn't, hey, we hear it's pretty good, but if you did and you bought it, you may already be aware of some "issues" the game encounters when played on an iPad 1 or various iPad Touch devices, such as unbearably choppy framerates and outright crashing. Its publisher, Epic Games, is also aware of said issues, and wants you to know that it's working extra hard to get things fixed "ASAP." VP and co-founder Mark Rein took to the company's forums after initially tweeting out news of the hitches, where he explained that some users on the aforementioned devices are running out of system memory. Apparently the issues weren't discovered in testing because the device must have a "large number of apps installed," which test units weren't equipped with. Regardless, Rein said the company should have a fix coming quickly, so, uh, maybe play some more Infinity Blade 1 for a few days?
Epic wants Unreal Engine 4 ready for the next-gen console launch
Like an inattentive uncle, Unreal Engine 3 didn't visit this current generation of consoles until it was around a year old. But if Epic's Mark Rein has his way, Unreal Engine 4 will be right there in the birthing room to catch the Xbox 720 and PS4 from their ... electronic womb. "I want Unreal Engine 4 to be ready far earlier than UE3 was; not a year after the consoles are released," he told Develop. "I think a year from a console's launch is perfectly fine for releasing a game, but not for releasing new tech. We need to be there day one or very early. That's my primary focus." When asked what he wants from that next gen, Rein focused on giving developers and publishers more pricing freedom rather than pure horsepower. He wants a beefy GPU as well, but it's telling to see the acknowledgement that the next wave of consoles will be as much about how games are delivered as what they look like.
'Water, meet fish': Epic Games' Mark Rein on Wii U, PS Vita, and E3 2011
Despite our wishy washy feelings about this year's big show, the E Triple, Epic Games VP and co-founder Mark Rein was quite positive on last week's proceedings. In an interview yesterday with Joystiq, Rein beamed about this year's show, saying, "I thought E3 was really good -- I thought the industry looked good. The quality of games on display was extremely high." He even had positive things to say about the growing divide between "triple-A" and "indie" development, explaining that, even though "it's definitely a boom or bust mentality now" with regards to the big publishing houses, "there was definitely more boom than bust" in his eyes. But for him, the big news of the show was the same as everyone else: Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, and Sony's PlayStation Vita reveal. "The Vita blew me away," Rein told us. "I was shocked at how badly I wanted to take one of those home with me." He was similarly thrilled by Nintendo's Wii successor, though he wouldn't speak to any specifics regarding Unreal Engine 3 on the new console. "I can tell you that I got to see it at E3 and it was what I expected of course. We were very excited to play some of their demos, see how good the feel of the hardware was -- it's a very impressive system and I think it's gonna do quite well," he told us. When asked about the possibility of UE3 on Wii U, as indicated by two UE3-based games in Nintendo's own sizzle reel, Rein referred us to our conversation at GDC. He summarized it by saying, "'If Nintendo made a system that could run our engine, we'd be on it like water on fish.' And so when someone asked me what I thought about the Wii U, I said, 'Water, meet fish.'" Seems pretty direct if you ask us!
LucasArts licenses Unreal Engine 3 for long-term, multi-project use
LucasArts has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Epic Games to develop with Unreal Engine 3, the studios announced today. The deal will encompass "multiple projects" and looks to provide a shortcut for LucasArts "between inspiration and execution on a wide variety of gaming platforms," according to Zak Phelps, the company's director of technology. Epic VP Mark Rein echoed that sentiment when he trumpeted "Unreal Engine 3's ability to scale across platforms, from mobile, through PC and console all the way up to the next generation of games." Epic's recent tech demo of the latest UE3 updates certainly looked incredible, but we didn't notice any new features promising to render a deeper Star Wars experience. Then again, we'd probably pay a buck just to see the Force unleashed on our iPhone, inspired or not. Previously, LucasArts licensed Unreal Engine 2 for 2005's Star Wars: Republic Commando (pictured).
Mark Rein: Unreal Development Kit 'eventually' coming to Android
Budding Android developers looking to utilize Epic's free Unreal Development Kit know it's still in the works for the platform. Of course, that's not to say the Unreal Engine itself isn't being used on Android -- Dungeon Defenders is perhaps the most visible Unreal Engine 3-powered game on the mobile OS, though a recent deal between Epic and Gameloft ensures that won't be the case for long. Companies can currently license UE3 code to develop Android games, though Epic VP Mark Rein told Gamasutra that "UDK is a totally different story." "It'd be difficult for anybody right now to make a game with UDK and ship it on Android, because Unreal is for making high-end, high-quality-content games," Rein said, adding, "most of them are pretty large, because you can make a large game with it." Thus, Google's current 50mb limit for apps is kind of a problem, though it's one Epic and Google are looking to resolve. "UDK will come eventually to Android, and Google is going to solve that problem," Rein assured. "We know they're working on it, but we don't know the release date and we don't know when it will get into the hands of all the different vendors with all the different phones."
Mark Rein: Unreal's 'focus is all devices'
Mark Rein's like an old-school tonic salesman with his Unreal Engine lately. You want it running on iOS devices including the new iPad 2? You've got it, friend! You want it on Android devices, including the Xperia Play and the Motorola Xoom? Say no more, chum! And you want it on next-gen devices that haven't even been announced yet? Yes, Mr. Rein's Unreal Engine elixir is just the thing to cure those ills that ail you. Try it today! OK well, Rein doesn't get quite that archaic in his recent interview with Develop, but he's bombastic about the rendering technology, promising that it will run great on any device you can throw at it, far into the future. Rein says Epic does want to "raise the bar on mobiles" as it did with Infinity Blade, but that the recent DirectX 11 demo is targeted squarely at would-be new console developers. Rein wants the demo to be "the big leap that we think justifies that new piece of hardware you're going to build," whether that be the Xbox 720, the PlayStation 4, or whatever else hardware manufacturers dream up. Also, that nasty back pain you've been dealing with? Rein doesn't actually say the Unreal Engine will get rid of it, but it's worth a try, right friend?
Mark Rein: If 3DS could 'deliver' Unreal Engine 3, we'd be on it
Mark Rein is getting a little tired of "the 3DS question" but, alas, my journalistic instincts demanded I ask him once again. With the launch of Nintendo's handheld right around the corner, it seemed like a prudent inquiry. "Why do people keep asking about the platforms we don't love?" he asked me in an interview room at the back of Epic's booth on the GDC show floor. "Nothing's changed," he added, "There's only so much time in the day; our engine requires a certain level of hardware capabilities to make our pipeline, our tools work -- and we work on the ones that do. The second Nintendo releases a piece of hardware that can run our engine well, we'll be on it like water on fish." For Rein, it's not a beef with Nintendo -- he's actually fond of The House Mario Built and has multiple handhelds and Wiis in his home. "There's nothing against Nintendo. I hate that people somehow think that's the case," he said. "If we felt it could run [Unreal Engine] and deliver the kind of experience people license our technology to build, we'd be on [the 3DS]." Well then, guess we won't ask Santa for that 3D version of Infinity Blade we've been dreaming of.
Unreal Engine 3 running on Mac OS X (and images of DirectX 11 features on PC, cigarettes)
We just got out of a GDC demo of some Unreal Engine 3 improvements already available to licensees but, perhaps more interestingly, Mark Rein promised that UE3 on Mac OS X is still coming. While towing a laptop sporting the UDK test game (it's pretty much Unreal Tournament) running on Mac OS X, Rein has confirmed that Unreal Engine has finally made its way to Mac OS ... only four years after announcing Gears of War for the platform. We've got an interview with Rein soon, so keep an eye on the site for that later. In the meantime, feel free to peruse our gallery below full of shots documenting the new features of Unreal Engine 3, including Direct X11 functionality. It would appear the engine has managed to do what Melanie Griffith hasn't: age gracefully. %Gallery-118241%
Bulletstorm PC demo coming after game's release
If the anticipation for the PC version of People Can Fly's over-the-top shooter Bulletstorm is absolutely killing you, then ... well, we're sorry to hear that. We wish we could assuage the tension by telling you that you'll get a chance to play the game before its release this Tuesday but, unfortunately, Epic Games' Mark Rein recently explained over Twitter that the game's PC demo "won't make it in time for ship date but should be available shortly after." We'd like to suggest an activity you can indulge in while you wait for the game to arrive, but what could potentially serve as a substitute for kicking, shooting, grenading and whipping? Shuffleboard, perhaps?
Unreal Engine 3 dev kit adding iOS support tomorrow, Infinity Blade clones coming Friday
The Unreal Engine 3 already made a quite spectacular debut on iOS with Epic Games' own Infinity Blade, but the company's decided it's time to finally stop teasing and give us the software to really play with it. Tomorrow's planned update to the UDK will deliver iOS support, meaning that all the fancy tools that helped make Infinity Blade such a blindingly gorgeous game will be at your fingertips should you be feeling creative. Licensing for the Engine is free for testing and non-commercial use, but you'll have to pay $99 if you want to sell anything you produce with it, to be followed by a 25 percent slice of your earnings beyond $5,000 and, of course, Apple's 30 percent cut of whatever's left. That might not sound like the best business plan in the world, but consider that Infinity Blade is estimated to have racked up over $1.5 million in sales already -- we're sure there'll be enough change left for ice cream even after Epic and Apple have had their share.
