Square Enix first Unreal 4 licensee
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider publisher signs "sweeping" deal with Epic to use new engine, becoming first publicly known third-party using the tech.
Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider publisher Square Enix is the first publicly known licensee for Unreal Engine 4. Epic Games announced the news today, confirming it has inked a deal with the Japanese game maker that allows it full use of the Unreal Engine 3 and the new, next-generation technology.
Epic Games described the deal as "long-term" and "sweeping," noting it will span multiple games from Square Enix. Epic Games Japan provided assistance in getting the deal done and will work directly with Square Enix for the new license.
According to the announcement, Square Enix will use Unreal Engine 4 as a means to supplement its proprietary software, the Luminous Studio engine. Square Enix showed off a next-generation Final Fantasy technology demo running on this engine in June.
Epic Games' own Fortnite is the first game that has been confirmed to run on Unreal Engine 4. It is due out sometime in 2013 exclusively for the PC.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
116 comments
Square always had a unique visual signature ... now if they start to do that one day every games will have the same graphics ... I hope in won't happen ... EA, Activision and Ubisoft already lost all visual signature to a more standart style ... to me this is really bad.
1 Like I look forward to the games that they will be making on this engine hopefully it won't have any lag issue like they did in The Last Remnant. On a side note I need to finish that game. I stop playing it towards the end because I wanted to do all the side quest.... I'll get back on it.
1 Like Please read the article. "According to the announcement, Square Enix will use Unreal Engine 4 as a means to supplement its proprietary software, the Luminous Studio engine." @diaz3
Finally, Square Enix games are so innovative and fun but the graphics really ruined it! <3 /s
@Mellowcow Um.... I'm sorry, but generally Square Enix has amazing graphics. If you look at FFXIII, they graphics on that game are STILL good, so I'm really curious as to what you are referring to...
I wonder how much did this cost. Though I hope they spend less time with their graphics marvel and more with story writing, which is the main reason I've played nearly 20 years of Final Fantasy
@bongsyas_23 Ummm, not with the Luminous Engine, they don't NEED it. The article stated that UE4 would be used as a supplement, meaning games will primarily be in the Luminous Engine from what I can tell.
I honestly thought the tech demo for the Luminous Engine looked way better than UE4. What the hell do they need this for now?
3 Like @squall_83 It's probably more efficient in lots of ways. It's all based on the code, the more you compartmentalize, organize and reduce the size of your code, the better it will perform under stress.
It's the reason I can run Max Payne 3 at 60 fps maxed out, while it's nearly impossible to keep Crysis 2 above 20 on the same system. Efficiency.
@gunnplay True. The Unreal Engine as always been good about delivering amazing graphics lightning fast even on slower machines
@gunnplay @squall_83 Also i wonder how much work went into the Agni-Demo. If a UE4 Demo was done with the same amount of work who can say that it won't look even better than the Luminous Tech Demo.
3 Like I dont care about Square Enix. I only came here because that image is what Diablo SHOULD have looked like in Diablo 3.
Hopefully the next-gen games will be as beautifully as the tech demo shown by SE, while the Unreal engine will help make it done more efficiently
This "kid" is probably older than you and I've been a gamer for 25 years. I was referencing Square's fiscal matters in regards to developing movies vs. games. I didn't like either 7 or 13 myself...especially 13. Don't get too cocky because you come off as an idiot. If you've really wondered why you've troubled yourself with responding, I wondered myself, kid.
This is the only thing the next Xbox and PS have going for them. They better make it work. Well. Extremely well.
Could possibly be used for the Soul Reaver/Legacy of Kain installment that Eidos is rumored to work on? Maybe? Please? Por favor??
6 Like I think this is great news for Square Enix, it means less time spent on ridiculous animations and CGI movies and more time spent actually making the game. Hopefully this will speed up the game making process for them a bit.
You weren't an FF7 lover? Didn't like that Shit? I sure didn't. The thing is it was all about financing. The same people making games don't do the film stuff. So we get that and they make the so lovely open-world FF13 and the much played and loved FF14! Quality games have nothing to do with film!
I have the FF7 : Advent Children movie and most of the the big name in past Final fantasy Game worked on the movie.
@imrobish like it or not kid ff7---->ff13
characters
story
hell even combat difficulty.
but meh u mentioned ff the 2 most horrible games in the franchise history to date so i wonder why i even bother to respond to you...learn about jrpg quality then talk again kkthxbb
@Phoenix-Ho-Yoku @imrobish no, not combat difficulty. don't kid yourself.
I'd even argue characters (somewhat), but all FF7 had on it was it's world that you inhabited and the story that gave it meaning.
I fear that moment ... when all the game will look the same ... the end of unique art style, the end of a signature visual ... then every caracter will have oversized muscles, big gun and no story.
@Coco_pierrot the games engine, specifically the udk has nothing to do with the diversity of the art style, signature visual..and definitely has nothing to do with muscles, guns, or story..this is a game engine. Its the development software that's been designed to format and lay out the game according to the developers liking. The unreal engine is one of the most used game engines in the indie and aaa market today and is probably the most flexible..you can basically make it look, act or do whatever you want and has nothing to do with "unreal" the game other than they made the game with the engine. There are many reasons why games are the same now but I wouldn't blame the unreal engine. The only downside to the udk is licensing
@Coco_pierrot I'm sorry if I sounded rude at all or anything..because you are right too..there are a lot of lighting effects that devs do overuse because of the amount of time saved not modifying something
thank for the list, I see that I was in the wrong and it is mostly because some developper use the beaten path more than anything
@Coco_pierrot http://www.indiedb.com/engines/unreal-development-kit/games here's a very small list of indie games done with the udk.
@Coco_pierrot the reason the indie scene has a hard time with unreal is, as I stated, licensing is very nasty with epic..unity is actually a harder engine to work with compared to the udk but can sometimes cost less compared to the unreal. I am a huge fan of unity and cant wait for 4 to roll out but seriously...unreal is on our side
@Coco_pierrot the only games you listed were huge triple A's that are in the same market..I use various game engines, unreal being one of them and I can guarantee you that visual style and guns have nothing or little to do with a games engine..especially the instance of the unreal. To the average person that sees the unreal splash screen on these large titles they see them and they think...wait a minute there are a lot of unreal made games that all seem the same..but the reality of the situation is that the large developers that use this engine are CREATING games that are the same and it has nothing to do with the capabilities of the engine itself but the direction that the team would be choosing to take. obviously there are shortcuts and reskins that happen but anyways..yes the engine is very flexible, you can put whatever you want in it..these teams have chosen to stick to the safe and beaten down path of overused art and design.
Look at all the games made with Unreal engine ... they all look the same. I don,t see any variation in the visual between a EA, Activision or Ubisoft games. They all look the same. When I look at Mortal Kombat, Mass Effect, Gears Of War, BioShock, Transformers Fall Of Cybertron and of course Unreal Tournement 3 ... all have the same visual aspect, same lightning effect, same texture, same everything ... the only game that is different using that engine is Borderland because of the cel-shading. So I think the engine is a part of the equation why everything look the same.
None of the indi game that I played were made with Unreal.
I'm sure this is a move to please the USA market ... and since the USA like big muscles, big guns and no story, I fear that not only the visual will be the same but everything else too.
@obsequies As a real person, I ask you to change your opinion of an unreal world. It really is the best you get.
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