Sony Online Entertainment Licenses Unreal Engine 3

Sony Online Entertainment announced a new licensing agreement with Epic Games to use the company's popular Unreal Engine 3 technology for the development of content for some of SOE's next-generation console and PC titles. SOE will use this technology for a number of future projects, including the earlier announced DC Comics-based game currently under development at Sony Online's Austin studio. Sony Online is the latest in a long string of publisher and developers licensing the engine, with THQ signing up back in March. Previous engine licensees have included Microsoft Game Studios, Atari, Real Time Worlds, Namco, Midway, Silicon Knights, and VU Games, and the middleware is currently the dominant third-party game engine, going into the next-generation transition. “Our development teams are very excited about harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 3,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “The combination of a top-notch graphics engine and a robust set of design tools will enable our teams to deliver incredible and innovative game content for next-generation consoles and the PC.”