BioWare licenses UnrealEngine 3

[Kolzig]

BioWare Licenses Unreal® Engine 3 Company to license technology from Epic Games for future title EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada, September 16, 2004 – BioWare Corp. and Epic Games today announced a licensure agreement, whereby BioWare will license Epic’s Unreal® Engine 3 for use in an upcoming title.

The agreement marks the first time the two companies have collaborated, combining the talents of the premier RPG developer with the premier next-generation engine technology creators. A BioWare development team is already hard at work on the Unreal Engine 3-powered game, an as-yet unannounced title which features BioWare’s third new intellectual property.

“We’re very happy to license Epic’s advanced Unreal Engine 3 technology,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp. “One of our development teams will now focus on using Unreal Engine 3 to help us create a great gaming experience in a timely manner. The Unreal Engine has powered some of our favorite games, and we’re looking forward to upholding the great history of this engine with an awesome game from BioWare”. Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp. added, “Meanwhile, BioWare will continue to independently develop our own cutting-edge engine technology for future titles!”

We’re thrilled that BioWare has chosen to work with Unreal Engine 3.” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games Inc. “BioWare’s decision reinforces that Unreal Engine 3 is not only a next generation, multi-genre game engine but also that it can work well for all developers, from small teams to world-class, technologically-savvy companies like BioWare.” Mark Rein, Vice President Epic added “BioWare has made some of the best games of all time and we can’t wait to see what amazing things they’re going to do with Unreal Engine 3!”

This will propably turn into something wild.

[manny_c44]

Hmmm, I'd think "restrained but generally enjoyable" would be a more likely outcome.

[Roderick]

Edge recently had an article about Unreal 3 where the designers said in an interview that the engine was all about flexibility. That you could make virtually any 3D-game with it, and that they aspired it, in fact, to spawn a diverse amount of games. I think that's coming to pass, now that Bioware licensed it.

[Erkki]

But the Unreal engine has to have (relatevily small) levels, right? You couldn't make a game like GTA3 or Gothic with it, I think. And the geometry must be fixed, so no Sims 2 / Singles either. Or is the 3.0 engine more flexible?

I'm kind of making a game (very slowly, and I'll probably never finish it) and one of the key features would be that there would be one big world, no levels. At most only indoor parts would require loading.

I recently got UT2004 (takes up 7 GB with a few of mods installed!) and was thinking of the possibility to make the game as a mod for it, but I guess I can't. I'm looking to build my own engine based on Ogre, or maybe Crystal Space. But maybe I'll start with a prototype using UT2004...

[Ryam BaCo]

unreal engine 3 is awesome!

bioware is ultra-awesome!

bioware + unreal engine 3 = omg!

[toblix]

I'm looking to build my own engine based on Ogre, or maybe Crystal Space. But maybe I'll start with a prototype using UT2004...

Have ye cast a glance upon Irrlicht?

[Erkki]

Thanx, I'll check it out. At the moment I won't have time to learn enough to evaluate which engine would suit me best, though; I'll probably stick with experimenting with Ogre for the moment.

[Lindset]

There's a new interview with the BioWare CEOs out. It's here.

No, wait. Actually it isn't. It's here. Very generic answers, though.

HomeLAN - First, how did the deal come about to license the UnrealEngine3 technology from Epic?

Ray Muzyka - This is something that we initiated – we felt that the Unreal 3 tech was the right tech for a specific title we are working on because of the type of gameplay inherent in that game. I can’t say anything more – yet! – about the game other than that it’s still a role-playing game at its core.

Smells of RPG/FPS hybrid, don't you think? Anyway... From what I've seen, the capabilities of the UE3 engine is great. Epic said that UE3 is targeted for a 2006 "release", so we'll have to wait a while before we can play this game But hey, it's probably safe to say that it will be a next-generation RPG with all of the elements that fans have come to expect from a BioWare game.

[Marek]

Smells of RPG/FPS hybrid, don't you think?

Not really. Unreal engine doesn't automatically mean FPS. The engine can be used for just about anything.

[Roderick]

Like I said in the first place

(btw Marek, do you check your private messages on Idle Thumbs?)

[Lindset]

Not really. Unreal engine doesn't automatically mean FPS. The engine can be used for just about anything.

I am aware of that, but if they were going to create an isometric RPG, why wouldn't they use the new tech they're working on at BioWare? Besides, what made me think it's an RPG/FPS hybrid is these small hints:

we felt that the Unreal 3 tech was the right tech for a specific title we are working on because of the type of gameplay inherent in that game.

it’s still a role-playing game at its core

I might, however, be very very very wrong. In which case I will let you punish me in any way you see fit. No wait, I won't

Edit: Ok, perhaps it could be a 3rd person RPG, similar to what they did in KOTOR, and what they're doing in Jade Empire. Meh... Dunno... Just thought it sounded reasonable because of the way he worded it

Edit2: "Adventure". Where the hell did that word come from? Removed it

[JimmyTheFish]

I hope they are making a new MDK with unreal 3 tech. That would be super sweet.

[Erkki]

Bioware may actually have 4 titles in developement.

Also, a slight correction to your question, we actually have 210 people working across five internal teams at BioWare that are developing new products and technology. In addition to the three teams already discussed, we have one team working on technology (TAG) and a fifth team working on something else we’ll be talking about fairly soon. There’s a lot going on at BioWare right now!

Strange, I consider myself somewhat of a BioWare fan, but I've actually only played the Baldur's Gate games (plus demos of MDK and NWN, and a bit from the beginning of KOTOR). Anyway, Baldur's Gate 2 was to me perhaps the most magnificient RPG ever. Even moreso than Gothic or Gothic 2, now that I think back.

[Marek]

Right. The comments they've made might just as well be referring to the fact that the Unreal engine 3 is capable of rendering large locations both indoor and outdoor, or something. We just don't know. I just think it's wrong to automatically assume it's an FPS or an RPG with heavy FPS influences. I've seen the engine's scripting language and you can create pretty much anything with it, within reason of course. An Unreal 3 powered 2D point-and-click adventure would be a waste of time

[Ryam BaCo]

Bioware may actually have 4 titles in developement.

ryam's speculationssss:

neverwinter nights 2, baldur's gate 3 (please don't! just...don't!) or something else

and jade empire, dragon age

but i'm much more excited about the drug they'll produce with unreal engine 3...

[Gabez]

They're only publishing Nevewinter Nights 2 and Baldur's Gate 3, as far as I know.

But GOD Baldur's Gate 3 with Unreal Engine 3 would be uber-yum!

[Erkki]

No, NWN 2 is being made by the former Black Isle guys (Obsidian or something?). And I don't think Bioware is making Baldur's Gate 3 either.

BTW. Every time I read the name Feargus Urquhart it makes me think that a person with such a name couldn't be anything else than an RPG developer. Somehow it seems so fitting.

[Lindset]

BTW. Every time I read the name Feargus Urquhart it makes me think that a person with such a name couldn't be anything else than an RPG developer. Somehow it seems so fitting.