EA signs Unreal Engine 3 for next-gen games

The increasingly ubiquitous Unreal Engine has added another name to its lengthy list of publisher licensees. Electronic Arts and game-and-technology developer Epic Games today announced a licensing agreement to allow Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology to power a number of next-generation games. The publisher will add the engine, along with its own internal tools, to the production process of game projects that are currently in development.

The technology is already confirmed to power such highly anticipated next-gen games on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 consoles as BioWare's Mass Effect, Silicon Knights' Too Human (a game that, as GameSpot's Rumor Control recently confirmed, is continuing to use the engine despite rumors to the contrary), and Epic's own Unreal Tournament 2007 and Gears of War.

EA studios president Paul Lee remarked that the deal is part of EA's strategy to "license cutting edge tools like the Unreal Engine 3 and combine them with [EA's] own systems to create state-of-the-art development technology." Epic vice president Mark Rein added that his company is "obviously thrilled to license Unreal Engine 3 to EA, the world leader in our industry." Neither company has named any games that will make use of the technology going forward. GameSpot News will provide further updates when they become available.