38 Studios snags Unreal Engine 3

Boston Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling might not have a lot of experience in the game industry, but he's smarter than to think his upstart 38 Studios should be reinventing the wheel with its debut massively multiplayer online game.

Previously known as Green Monster Games, the studio earlier this year licensed the BigWorld Technology Suite to handle some of its project's server-side needs. While gamers might never see the impact of that agreement, 38 Studios today announced another deal that players won't be able to help but see. The company's upcoming MMO will be built using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3, the technology base behind titles like Gears of War, Stranglehold, and Hour of Victory.

38 Studios joins a lengthy list of Unreal Engine licensees including Capcom, THQ, Midway, Silicon Knights, Microsoft, Sony, Take-Two, Red Mile Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and more.

The studio's debut title will be based on an original intellectual property developed with the help of Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore. The unnamed project is expected to arrive in late 2010.