Unreal Development Kit May Beta Released With Steamworks, Scaleform

Epic Games has released the latest beta edition of its free Unreal Development Kit, including the previously-promised Scaleform GFX user interface solution and a Steam-based default online multiplayer implementation. First announced last November, the UDK is a version of the company's wildly popular Unreal Engine 3. It is free for use in noncommercial games, and has a royalty-based payment option for commercial games. The May 2010 UDK Beta release is available for download at Epic's official site. It includes Scaleform, a Flash-based UI editor, and default online multiplayer, friends, and matchmaking support through Valve's Steamworks system. Scaleform support was announced for full Unreal Engine 3 licensees last month; today's release broadens that integration to the UDK. Similarly, Steamworks support was announced for Unreal Engine 3 licensees during GDC this March. Also included in the new beta are a variety of updates to lighting, color grading, the level editor, the installer, rendering, and numerous other areas of development.