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Epic calls EA buyout rumor "rubbish"
In a one word response to an unsubstantiated rumor that Electronic Arts is planning to buy Epic Games, Epic's VP Mark Rein told Big Download that the rumor is "rubbish." The rumor began swirling (down the drain, so it would seem) last week, when GameGuru.in reported that word from the "rumor mill" was that EA was planning the buyout in order to acquire the Unreal Engine. Specifically, it would be a chance for the company to get its hands on next Unreal Engine and the Gears of War franchise. According to Rein, it just ain't so.
The Chronicles of Spellborn launches November 27th in North America
Publisher Acclaim Games has finally announced the North American release date of developer Spellborn International's action-oriented MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn. The game will go live in the United States and Canada on the 27th of November -- exactly the same day as the European release. Why Acclaim and European publisher Frogster didn't announce for all regions at once, we're not quite sure!In the press release we received, Acclaim promised that a North American closed beta will begin soon, and directed would-be players to sign up at the official site. Expect fairly standard MMO gameplay, except for combat, which is a little different. You'll actually have to aim your attacks like you would in a third person shooter game.Spellborn runs on "Unreal Engine 2.5" and features music by respected video game composer Jesper Kyd, who has contributed scoring to games like Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, and Unreal Tournament 3.
Release date announced for The Chronicles of Spellborn
The Chronicles of Spellborn developers Spellborn NV and publisher Frogster have just announced that the eagerly-awaited fantasy MMO will be hit retail release on November 27th, 2008 in Europe. This includes the German, English and French versions of the game. In preparation for this release date, Spellborn has entered into the next phase of closed beta and introduced a large content patch on this last Wednesday, September 17th.If you've not been following The Chronicles of Spellborn, this would be a good time to see what the game has to offer. Set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, the game uses the Unreal Engine to create an "authentic living world" for players to enjoy. Check out their forums for information on the beta and more details on the game's upcoming launch.
On eve of Too Human launch, Epic dispute resurfaces
It's been quite awhile since we've heard anything about the Silicon Knights and Epic Games lawsuit -- we last reported on it in January 2008 and were all prepared to make jokes about the lawsuit being on the cusp of vaporware like Duke Nukem Forever is and Too Human was. Thankfully, our curiosity has been rewarded; on the eve of the latter game's launch, Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack managed to put the legal proceedings back into the limelight.In an interview with Develop, Dyack said that the trial is proceeding and that he was confident in his claims. "We're hopeful that justice will be done. We all feel really strongly that [Epic Games has] defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry," he said.To recap: In late July 2007, Silicon Knights filed a lawsuit against Epic Games over what it felt was inadequate support for its Unreal Engine 3, thus harming development of Too Human. Epic responded and filed a countersuit. In November, Epic's motion for dismissal was denied. In January 2008, multiple subpoenas were issued to other UE3 licensees. As for Too Human's involvement, we'll be keeping a mental tally of how many reviews mention the lawsuit.
Unreal Engine 4 geared for next-gen consoles
Despite the fact that Unreal Engine 3 has been licensed by, oh, everyone for building their current-gen games, results have been hit or miss. While developers continue to get to grips with the current iteration of the technology, its creator, Epic Games, is already at work building the next version to stump them make their lives easier ... in the future.In news sure to make Dennis Dyack happy, Epic's president, Mike Capps, revealed at Microsoft's Gamefest technology conference that the successors to the current crop of consoles (even Wii?) are its target platforms for Unreal Engine 4. "We've got Unreal [Engine] 4 in production right now," Capps told the gathering of developers, adding, "it's going to be in the next console generation ... our rough guess is 2012 to 2018." So, there you have it. Xbox 720 in 2012. We kid. We aren't kidding when we say that we hope developers other than Epic and a handful of others get a sound grasp on UE3 before then.
Unreal Engine 4 will be ready for next console gen
Chatting with Gamasutra during Seattle's recent GameFest, Epic Games' Mike Capps confirmed progress on Unreal Engine 4 mentioning that it should be ready for debut "...in the next console generation - our rough guess is 2012 - 2018." Interesting too was confirmation from Capps that the UE4 will have "console focus" where "version 4 will exclusively target the next console generation, Microsoft's successor for the Xbox 360, Sony's successor for the Playstation 3 - and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also. PCs will follow after that."One can only try to imagine what the next console generation will bring in terms of graphics and physics, especially seeing how amazing some games look using the Unreal Engine 3. One can only dream. But we're welcoming the next, next generation with open arms as we say; bring on the pretty!
Ignition selects Unreal Engine 3 for 'groundbreaking' FPS
Yet another company has climbed on board the Unreal Engine 3 bandwagon, as UK-headquartered Ignition Entertainment dropped word that it has licensed Epic's popular tech to help fuel what the company calls a "groundbreaking" new FPS.In development at Ignition's Florida studio, nothing is yet known of the project beyond that it will be based on an original, as-yet-undisclosed IP. Well, that's not entirely true, as the company does note that the game will be both "exciting" and "fresh," giving us hope that at long last someone will bring together two of our most fond loves, letting us shoot bad guys and raid the salad bar from the comfort of our living room.
Last Remnant dev says Unreal Engine cause behind PS3 delay
Once again, another Unreal Engine-related delay strikes again. The Last Remnant is one of the timed exclusive RPGs from Square Enix on the Xbox 360, but that wasn't because Microsoft shelled out the big bucks. According to an interview with Gamespy, the delay was "mainly for development reasons." The Unreal Engine has been difficult to work with on PS3, and that's been the cause of the delay. "We're developing the game using the middleware Unreal Engine, and the Unreal Engine has a slower development on the PS3 side."Thankfully, ever since Epic worked on the PS3 with Unreal Tournament III, things have been running more smoothly on Sony's platform. "It was only really workable after Unreal Tournament was published, so this was mainly a development decision."Square Enix's other PS3 RPG games, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, utilize Square Enix's in-house Crystal Tools engine.[Via NeoGAF]%Gallery-24836%
Hey, look, another Korean developer licenses Unreal Engine 3
Epic Games is apparently doing a good job selling and supporting its Unreal Engine 3 in the Korean market. Yet another developer has licensed the engine for an MMO project. This time it's T-Entertainment, which is working on a "space opera" MMO called L2. Wow, that sounds like the name of another Korean MMO!Welcome to the club, T-Entertainment! Meet AcroGames and Bluehole; they're also Korean developers using Unreal Engine 3. Oh, and of course you know about Webzen's Huxley, which is built on Unreal Engine 3. Yes, also Korean. Let's not forget the illustrious NCsoft, which already used the previous version of Unreal for Lineage II, and plans to use version 3 for not one but two new projects.There was an interview with Epic Games' Mark Rein at Gamasutra several months back. He said that Epic is working hard to propagate Unreal Engine 3 in Korea, but described serious challenges -- particularly with customer support. It looks like Epic is finding ways to deal with those challenges after all.[Via Worlds in Motion]
Sega re-licenses Unreal Engine 3 for unknown cross-platform title
Sega has extended its licensing agreement with Epic Games for use of Unreal Engine 3 with an "unannounced cross-platform title." According to the press release, details of the project will be announced at a later date. If all this feels like deja vu, that's because it is. Sega's original license was announced in May 2007, except then it was for multiple unannounced projects, details of which were to follow. As of this writing, we still don't know what those titles were, and we couldn't find any news over the last year. Our then-best guess Condemned 2 uses Lithtech Jupiter EX. Universe at War and Sonic Unleashed utilize the Alamo and Hedgehog engines, respectively. If May 2007 announced multiple unannounced titles, whatever happened to them? Is this a new game or related to the older projects? A Sega representative said that they have no comment to either question at this time. Our new guess? Resident Evil's Shinji Mikami is working on a mystery title for Platinum Games, who now has an extensive publishing deal with Sega. However, we don't know if Sega would have to make a new license deal for a game it's not developing in-house.
ION 08: MMOs and the television content model (SGW)
Joseph Ybarra, SVP of strategic operations at Firesky, the publishing subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, presented a session today at ION 08 about the Stargate Worlds production model that borrows heavily from Hollywood and TV models. The goal for SGW is to approach content updates for the game more like a production cycle for television, in which an episode takes a predictable amount of time to complete (14-16 weeks in the case of Stargate Atlantis). After some background on Firesky and CME, Ybarra showed the Stargate Worlds trailer and launched into a discussion of the strategy with SGW. The idea is to adopt a movie model for the development phase and a TV model for the post-launch "live" phase. They chose to use the BigWorld middleware platform and Unreal Engine technologies in an effort to use proven tools: "don't reinvent the wheel." This allows them to both minimize risk and focus on the content.
No Wii Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe due to Unreal Engine
When we heard about Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the first thing we asked ourselves was, "Why?" The second thing we asked ourselves was, "No really, why?" Then we started to wonder, though, why this game wasn't heading to the Wii. It's not that we're going to miss it (although we're sure some of you might, and that's completely fine). It's just that the decision to snub the Wii doesn't seem to make any business sense. The Wii does have a pretty large userbase, after all, and according to the Mortal Kombat series' co-creator and executive producer, Ed Boon, Armageddon did well on the Wii. In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, were graphics really going to be that much of an issue?As it turns out, the issue is the Unreal Engine. Since the newest version of the engine doesn't officially exist for the Wii, the developers thought it would be too challenging to bring the game to Nintendo's console. Yet, according to Boone, they're not against the idea. If they're waiting for Epic to support the Unreal Engine on the Wii, though, they better not hold their breath. Whether or not Midway will one day use the unofficial engine and port the game to the Wii remains to be seen.[Via GoNintendo]
Vogster Entertainment introduces CrimeCraft
CrimeCraft, a "gritty, crime drama MMO", has just been announced by Vogster Entertainment for your enjoyment. Hopefully no company will have an objection to the name.Vogster has yet to release in-depth information for the game, but their website points to a third-person shooter MMO that pushes cooperation via a fleshed out economy and territory control. They've already licensed out the Unreal Engine for the game, so we can expect some fun with physics and a polished graphics system.Vogster has announced that CrimeCraft will include five classes and feature an advanced character customization system, as well as allow players to evolve their characters through special fighting skills. Gangs will be able to claim control of territory and defend their holds from rival gangs, all while running from the police.Right now though, the game looks to be a version of All Points Bulletin except minus the police and with alot more dystopia. The game is set in a city where crime controls the streets and the cops can do little more than shrug and bunker down in specially sectioned off areas. Sounds to this blogger like someone needs to call out the tanks.We'll be following CrimeCraft and giving you more information as it's released. Until then, enjoy their teaser site.[Via TenTonHammer]
More than 5 new EA titles to have Unreal Engine 3 under the hood
Electronic Arts likes what it has seen from Unreal Engine 3, so much so that the company has extended its relationship with Epic, giving EA the rights to incorporate the popular middleware solution into more than five upcoming titles. As to what games this impacts EA won't say, only noting that each of the games are currently in development. The company first inked an agreement with Epic in 2006 to use the technology, which has since made its way into such recent titles as Medal of Honor Airborne and last month's fist-pounding Army of Two, proving once and for all that even great technology doesn't make the game.
Bluehole joins vast ranks of Unreal-using devs
A new Korean development studio called Bluehole announced this week that it has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for its "flagship" MMO project, which is codenamed Project S1. The studio just started up last year, and is composed of "key members from some of the leading development and management teams in Korea." Specific, that!Project S1 is being developed for the PC, and according to a statement by Epic's Jay Wilbur, its team has "plans to reinvent MMO design and battle system mechanics." Sounds promising, but it's awfully soon to tell. We're looking forward to hearing more about this project in the months to come.Bluehole joins fellow Koreans NCsoft and Webzen, along with seemingly countless other studios like Cheyenne Mountain and 38 Studios in using the prolific and popular Unreal engine.
Huxley breaks radio silence
As we noted when we named PlanetSide our #3 Sci-Fi MMO to date, it's good to see the "MMO" try on some new (i.e., non-RPG) clothes now and again. That's why we've been keeping a close eye on Webzen's MMOFPS Huxley. Updates on Huxley have been coming in a trickle in recent months. Videos have been released now and again, and we knew it was in closed beta, but Webzen hasn't said much to the public lately. Good news: the silence was broken by an article at IGN the other day!The basic info is all there: two persistent cities supporting up to 5,000 players in a post-apocalyptic Earth setting, instanced battles with hundreds of players, and differences between the PC and XBox 360 versions of the game. There are also several new screenshots and videos. The game looks a lot like Unreal Tournament 3. Not a surprise, since it's a first-person-shooter running on Unreal Engine 3.According to the article, the PC version of Huxley will launch States-side before year's end, with the 360 version following about six months later.[Via XBox 360 Fanboy]
Schilling's 38 Studios chooses Unreal
Add yet another developer to the Unreal roster. Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has announced (via GameDaily) that it has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for its MMO project Copernicus. The studio also recently licensed BigWorld's MMO dev tools. Of course, given the tentative 2010 release, we don't expect to see any thing from the game for a at least another year. For now, all we've really got to think about is how the Mova facial technology would beautify the legendary baseball pitcher's avatar.
GameplayHD's videogame animated series "Sacred Road" launches this fall
Voom's GameplayHD channel has a new 3D animated action series on the way, Sacred Road. As if we weren't already getting enough HD gaming in (CoD4 anyone?), the new series is being created entirely within a videogame engine, taking Red vs. Blue's concept to a whole new level. With graphical assets courtesy of Gearbox Software's Brothers in Arms game, Sacred Road is about a group of WWII soldiers caught up fighting Nazi's with an army of undead World War I fighters at their command. Check it out this fall, either on GameplayHD or via the website.[Via GameIndustry.com]
GDC08: GoW2's water is going to be freakin' hot! [update]
Update: Thanks to zizzy, we've posted a better, lengthier video showcasing Epic's entire presentation. And not only does the water look hotter than ever, but the Unreal Engine's new destructible environments, beefed up lighting, high density crowds and cube of meat are equally as hot. Man, will GoW2 benefit from destructible enivornments ... simply amazing!Today, Epic Games showed off the latest build of their hella popular Unreal Engine 3, showcasing the engine's latest additions and enhancements. Their tech demo video complete tech demo video (embedded above) is a real-time, in engine demo of the Unreal Engine's latest feature, Dynamic Fluid Surfaces. And we'll be the first to jump on the Dynamic Fluid Surfaces bandwagon, because this water is HOT! Hot in an "omg that's amazingly hot" kind of way. Even better is the fact that Mr. Marcus Fenix is used to demo the new water effect which pretty much means that A) we're looking at Gears of War 2's engine in the flesh and B) GoW2's water is going to be freakin' hot! Just look at that water ... so delicious.[Via Joystiq]
Epic's Mark Rein responds to Microsoft buyout rumor
Did you hear the one about Microsoft buying Unreal Engine developer Epic Games for one billion dollars? The rumor stems from the latest issue of GamePro magazine, and while not flat-out denying the rumor, Epic VP Mark Rein did has some choice words.In an email to Develop, Rein said, "I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion, because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap," followed by a smile-inducing emoticon. A more tangible bit of Epic Games speculation is that Gears of War 2 will be unveiled at GDC this week.[Via X3F]
