EA renews Unreal deal

Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 has been used in a wide variety of top-tier games, including Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3. The technology has also been the backbone of many other titles including Lost Odyssey, Stranglehold, BioShock, and the forthcoming Too Human. The most recent version of the engine was shown off during Microsoft's keynote address at the 2008 Game Developers Conference.

Electronic Arts has also been using the popular engine in such multiplatform titles Medal of Honor Airborne and Army of Two. Now, according to Epic, the publisher wants to expand its licensing agreement--first signed in 2006--to cover "more than five" games currently in development. As with previous titles, the Unreal Engine 3 toolset will be used alongside EA's own proprietary development technology.

Neither EA nor Epic named any specific titles covered by the UE3 licensing extension. However, it's worth noting that Mass Effect, the role-playing game from now-EA-owned studio BioWare, is based on the engine. The Edmonton, Alberta-based studio has repeatedly said that it is planning at least one sequel to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful title, which would presumably use the same technology.