Epic: UT 2007 <i>might</i> make PS3 launch

After several weeks of confusion about whether Unreal Tournament 2007 will be a PlayStation 3 launch title, definitive word on the status of the game has emerged. Ironically, that word is that the game's release date on the PS3 is still undetermined.

Following a report in the January 2006 PSM magazine, which indicated the game would be a launch title for the PlayStation 3, Epic Games has stated for the record that it only might make the console's launch. Why? Because, like most of the game industry, Epic isn't sure exactly when Sony plans to ship its next-generation console.

"Do you know when the PS3 launch is? Neither do we," said Epic vice president Mark Rein. The outspoken developer echoed the infamous tagline of his colleagues at id Software, telling GameSpot, "but we know when UT2007 will be done: WHEN IT'S DONE!" (Emphasis in the original.) Currently, the PlayStation 3 is tentatively scheduled for an "early 2006" release.

Rein continued, saying, "The question of whether we're a launch title or not is unanswerable because we don't know if the PS3 will be out before we're done or not. ... We won't ship the title on any platform before it's done, and it is too early to say when that will be."

Rein also confirmed online reports that Epic's current focus is the PC version of UT2007. "For now we soldier on with the plan to ship on PC as soon as we're done," he said. For more on that version of the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.