Electronic Arts has become the latest gaming industry giant to announce that it has acquired the Unreal Engine 3 license. EA joins an ever expanding list of license holders that includes Microsoft, Sony and SOE, Atari, Midway, THQ, Buena Vista Games, Bioware, Gearbox Software, Real Time Worlds, 10tacle Studios, TimeGate and Silicon Knights.
For EA the deal with Epic makes sense as the publisher is arming its developers with the necessary next-gen tools; and Unreal Engine 3 is proving to be the weapon of choice for developers. For Epic the license means additional prestige as EA is the biggest publisher in the world.
UE3 games are already in development by major studios while Epic Games plans to use it in UT 2007 while the XBox 360 exclusive Gears of War is another high profile title using the same engine and may be one of the first UE 3 games to be released; 17 November, 2006.
