Unity Development Platform, Web Player Certified By U.S. Army, Air Force

The U.S. Army and Air Force have officially certified Unity Technologies' development platform and web player for use on their secure networks, opening the door for easier development of military simulations. The popular 3D game development tool, which has over 450,000 registered users, can now be used to make everything from situational and cultural awareness trainers to complete virtual worlds that could be used to aid military readiness. These projects will be playable through web browsers on secure military networks without downloading any additional executable files, and on mobile devices used by military personnel in the field, Unity said. "Having a cost effective solution such as Unity, particularly when Unity is so feature rich and easy to use, opens up possibilities for creating 3D simulation experiences, serious games and other immersive learning environments we've never been able to deliver to our troops before for the price," said DoD defense contractor Kurt Melander, in a statement. "What is significant about this certification is that we received accreditation for the Unity Web Player in addition to the Unity development platform," said Unity director of simulation and visualization sales Davey Jackson. "This will have a huge impact on the rate at which distributed simulations can be developed and deployed." The U.S. Army announced a $50 million training games initiative in 2008, building on previous game-based trainers including 2006's DARWARS: Ambush Unity recently added support for Android phone app development to a lineup of supported platforms including major home consoles, iOS and the web.