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Epic China US studio crafting new MMOG

Fat Princess dev Darkstar Industries reformed as Titan Studios, a subsidiary of Gears of War creator's Asian branch; projects include unannounced online game.

Going big is a clear design philosophy at Epic Games, whether it pertains to mountain-sized Gears of War protagonist Marcus Fenix or the gothic architecture he and his cohorts frequently demolish. That mentality has also extended outside the gaming realm, as the game maker has undergone significant expansion this year, turning its North Carolina-based headquarters into a bona fide campus and acquiring Undertow developer Chair Entertainment.

Today, Epic bulked up a bit further. The game maker's China branch, which Epic established to provide outsourcing and content production services, has announced the formation of Titan Studios, a Seattle, Washington-based subsidiary. The US studio, which was officially established in June, will focus on creating original games, building upon the Unreal Engine 3's technologies, and offering "additional time zone support to partners using Epic Games China's outsourcing services."

Titan Studios isn't entirely an unknown entity. The studio made its debut during this year's E3 Media & Business Summit as Darkstar Industries, creator of the upcoming PlayStation Network downloadable title Fat Princess. That's not all the Epic China subsidiary has in its vaults, however; today's announcements also noted that an undefined number of unannounced projects are in the works at the studio, one of which is a massively multiplayer online game.

For more on Titan's first project, Fat Princess, check out GameSpot's coverage from E3 2008.

31 Comments

  • parrot_of_adun

    Posted Nov 13, 2008 12:47 am GMT

    "Plus like it or not..There are good minds coming out of China"(ctburesch)

    Oh yea, definitely.
    Let me put it this way, China is geat, the PRC however is a terrible thing.

  • DataDream

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 10:21 am GMT

    MMO's are getting WAY overdone.

    Many of us enjoy a more solitary experience - instead of a knight walking up to you and saying, "What up man - wanna come over later and..." - I prefer a knight within the context of the story - being a knight and nothing else. No chatting or rubbish - just the story of the game itself. And yes the "knight" thing was just and example. All MMO's have this same central "flaw" even on dedicated RP servers.

    MMO's have just become social networking sites with pretty graphics for gamers.

    I'm not saying all MMO's are bad at all - Just that not ALL games need to be MMO's or made into MMO's.

  • tudyniuz

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 10:08 am GMT

    @CamiKitten:neither would I

  • CamiKitten

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 5:45 am GMT

    I'd never have a live if they made an mmo of Oblivion >_>

  • Irve

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 3:35 am GMT

    forget all that how about fat princess for the 360 .. that would be cool !!

  • Tiger_Raid

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 3:14 am GMT

    man Xbox 360 needs new MMOG's!

  • DarthVillainous

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 12:45 am GMT

    And I'm hoping they never make Elder Scrolls an MMO. KotOR going the MMO route is bad enough.

  • HyBridFuRy

    Posted Nov 12, 2008 12:23 am GMT

    I'm hoping of an mmorpg of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion!! xD

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 10:43 pm GMT

    A gory MMO perhaps?

  • ElZilcho

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 7:40 pm GMT

    I'm babbling? how amusing, why am I not surprised to see you missing the point. But this is my community, the gamers, as well as I'm a gamer. CNN is not my community, I'm not into politics, I dont belong there. therefore it is my ethical responsibility to reach out to those in my community, this is how one effectively raises awareness about a certain issue, by persuading fellow peers with which one has immediate access to, I'm sorry that my ideals and interests interfere with yours but I feel it is my duty to educate as many as I can about this horrible event happening right now, God forbid I should ever offend or otherwise inconvene anyone with such a trivial issue, oh wait its genocide, only one of the most horrible sins humanity has allowed to happen, never mind, I guess I can sleep peacefully if a few of you dont find this to be the right context for this issue but tell me, I'm a gamer, where else am I suppose to go? if I cant reach out to other fellow gamers first then I shouldnt be allowed to go with this issue anywhere else.

  • majidok

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 7:16 pm GMT

    Tom you guys have a limit for headlines too ? The headline is really confusing

  • cocomacoco

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 7:03 pm GMT

    i Hope they will do a RPG of Gears!

  • okassar

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 4:24 pm GMT

    Doesn't seem too ambitious,so for now,forget it.

  • Finstar

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 3:05 pm GMT

    The business goes to China with its dumping prices since its cheaper to produce there with low-level social conditions and sweat shops. The companies doing so have to do it, because they will otherwise fail in the free market competition. As a result american/ european workers are losing their jobs! Whats this you ask? Just one side of the poor economy system which benefits the social gap or enviromental exploit...The financial crisis is also a direct result of it.... Wanna know more and help establish a new social, ecological economy? www.globalmarshallplan.org Thnx!

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 3:00 pm GMT

    ElZilcho....Outsourcing is a fact of life. The studio is OWNED by a North Carolina company that employs Chineses. Shhh, you are babbling. Go to CNN.

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 2:58 pm GMT

    parrot_of_adun...It says in the article why a development office is in China...to support partners using the unreal engine in those time zones. Basically so the boys in NC aren't awakened in the middle of the night from a developer in Japan using the technology that has encountered a problem that can't wait. Plus like it or not..There are good minds coming out of China

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 2:54 pm GMT

    ElZilcho...What does Darfur have to do with video gaming. Apparently a lot of us know, but this isn't a CNN blog silly. It is a VIDEOGAMING news site.

  • parrot_of_adun

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 2:37 pm GMT

    china... *shivers*

    Anyway, why would Epic need offices in multiple countries?
    I'm honestly curious, I don't see the benefit.

  • commandokiller

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 2:15 pm GMT

    @ ElZilcho.

    Good luck. You may as well just stop buying stuff altogether if you're not buying from China.

  • dieing_heart

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 1:51 pm GMT

    @ -Celeste-
    Couldn't agree more with your point on the politics. But don't be so quick to right activision-blizzard off as an EA-esque company. Say what you will about their dominance of the market, at least they make quality, well developed games. EA on the other hand....they've been pushing out the same crap games for as long as I can remember.

  • -Celeste-

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 1:18 pm GMT

    Err, i missed my original intent. I'm glad for Epic. GoW2 is pretty awesome even if the ending is a bit ... Bleh? to say it best. Here's to a company who does good work being around for a while. We need ppl like this to keep Act-Blz and EA in check. Btw, did they get an accronym yet? Like AB ... writing out activision-blizzard more than once sucks.

  • -Celeste-

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 1:16 pm GMT

    Dude, keep the politics and gaming separate. This whole "you're committing geocide" discussions are overated as its all a basis of opinion. We invade Afganistan and Iraq and everyone just shrugs their shoulders. Another country starts a war, and everyone gets up in arms. I'm not condoning what is happening elsewhere in the world. But, before you start saying boycott and raise the banners, look in the mirror. Mr Kettle looks strikingly similiar doesn't Mr. Pot?

  • stangen

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 1:15 pm GMT

    gears of war based MMO? sounds hawt

  • Media_Mind

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 12:57 pm GMT

    ...

  • ElZilcho

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 12:42 pm GMT

    outsourcing isn't good, especially if it's with China. they're giving jobs to Chinese dudes that Americans could or should be getting here in the States. now money is going to these people which by the way, are big supporters of the Sudanese government whom they have big contracts with,oil companies mostly (whats the Chinese word for oil you ask? Sudan) there's also a genocide going on over there right now in the Darfur region, where 400,000 have been killed since 2003, and more than 3 million have been displaced to refugee camps, so we should oppose or should divest funds that help the Chinese government which simultaniously helps the Sudanese government, whom are trying to wipe out the poor Darfur people.
    to summarize, dont buy anything made from China, and if you have to buy anything from china, research your products first and dont get anything that may end up giving a profit to the sudanese government (which is impossible, anything thats taxable goes to the Chinese government and the Chinese government has deep ties with Sudan), because you might as well be mailing your money to genocidal Sudanese militants if you dont.
    please do your part in this.

  • Un4givingAsault

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 12:40 pm GMT

    Fat Princess? sounds amazing(sarcasm). Wow the playstation is going to have so more anemia crap...

  • Blueprint32

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 12:32 pm GMT

    if you try to please everyone you end up being hated by everyone! gaming companies need to realize that

  • Bgrngod

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 12:29 pm GMT

    So is their going to be a character named Chubby Prince?

  • fightingfish18

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 11:35 am GMT

    i hope fat princess turns out to be great. Just so the feminists can shove it. I'm tired of the gaming industry conforming to social standards just because a bunch of little kids and old people like the wii. 10 years ago, heck 5 years ago, the feminist lobby wouldnt care if there was a video game entitled "fat princess"

  • tubbablubba

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 11:25 am GMT

    This all sounds like a pretty good up and coming dev. team

  • amkalfus

    Posted Nov 11, 2008 10:47 am GMT

    I am hopin Fat Princess is EPIC!!!!

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