Epic Games and NCsoft® Sign Largest Unreal Engine 3 Licensing Deal in Asia to Date
A major, long-term licensing agreement to bring the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 to NCsoft’s future titles
CARY, N.C. and SEOUL (March 7, 2012) – Epic Games, Inc. and NCsoft announce a major, long-term licensing agreement to bring the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 to NCsoft’s future titles. Orchestrated by Epic Games Korea, this engine licensing deal is the largest that Epic has ever signed in Asia.
As one of the world’s most successful game developers, NCsoft is responsible for legendary multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as “Lineage,” one of the industry's most enduring sagas, its sequel, “Lineage II,” and the critically acclaimed “Aion.”
Through this new partnership, NCsoft will use the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology to develop its upcoming games, including the highly anticipated “Blade&Soul,” and further establish itself as a global leader in online game development and services. NCsoft previously licensed Unreal Engine 2 in 2001 for the prominent MMORPG “Lineage II.”
“It has been possible for us to harness all our energy and put it toward the creativity of the games themselves by developing ‘Lineage II’ and ‘Blade and Soul’ with Unreal Engine,” said Hyungjun Kim, vice president of NCsoft. “I believe we can pull the most out of the engine through the know-how that has accumulated through our experience with this superior game engine.”
“Equipping the brilliant creative minds at NCsoft with cutting-edge tools and features will bring even more visually stunning, high-quality entertainment to millions of players,” said Ray Park, territory manager of Epic Games Korea. “Already having worked more than a decade with NCsoft, we look forward to continuing our close cooperation with them for many more years to come.”
Established in 2009, Epic Games Korea is a wholly owned and operated business unit based in Seoul. The subsidiary drives Unreal Engine licensing, creates technology and provides support to development teams using the Unreal Engine in the Korean marketplace. To learn more about Epic Games Korea, please visit www.epicgameskorea.com
About Unreal Engine 3
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed tools and scalability across multiple platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for numerous platforms and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including eight Game Developer Front Line Awards and four Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at www.unrealengine.com
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The first two games in Epic’s "Gears of War" franchise have sold more than 13 million copies and won more than 50 game of the year awards. The third installment, “Gears of War 3,” sold more than 3 million copies within its first week of release, catapulting the franchise beyond $1 billion in lifetime sales. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 industry technology awards and powers many bestselling games. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at www.epicgames.com
About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Aion®, Lineage®, Guild Wars®, and City of Heroes® franchises. Announced in August 2011, WildStar™ is the newest MMO being developed by internal team Carbine Studios. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://www.NCsoft.com
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of War 3, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
As one of the world’s most successful game developers, NCsoft is responsible for legendary multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as “Lineage,” one of the industry's most enduring sagas, its sequel, “Lineage II,” and the critically acclaimed “Aion.”
Through this new partnership, NCsoft will use the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology to develop its upcoming games, including the highly anticipated “Blade&Soul,” and further establish itself as a global leader in online game development and services. NCsoft previously licensed Unreal Engine 2 in 2001 for the prominent MMORPG “Lineage II.”
“It has been possible for us to harness all our energy and put it toward the creativity of the games themselves by developing ‘Lineage II’ and ‘Blade and Soul’ with Unreal Engine,” said Hyungjun Kim, vice president of NCsoft. “I believe we can pull the most out of the engine through the know-how that has accumulated through our experience with this superior game engine.”
“Equipping the brilliant creative minds at NCsoft with cutting-edge tools and features will bring even more visually stunning, high-quality entertainment to millions of players,” said Ray Park, territory manager of Epic Games Korea. “Already having worked more than a decade with NCsoft, we look forward to continuing our close cooperation with them for many more years to come.”
Established in 2009, Epic Games Korea is a wholly owned and operated business unit based in Seoul. The subsidiary drives Unreal Engine licensing, creates technology and provides support to development teams using the Unreal Engine in the Korean marketplace. To learn more about Epic Games Korea, please visit www.epicgameskorea.com
About Unreal Engine 3
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed tools and scalability across multiple platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for numerous platforms and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including eight Game Developer Front Line Awards and four Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at www.unrealengine.com
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The first two games in Epic’s "Gears of War" franchise have sold more than 13 million copies and won more than 50 game of the year awards. The third installment, “Gears of War 3,” sold more than 3 million copies within its first week of release, catapulting the franchise beyond $1 billion in lifetime sales. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 industry technology awards and powers many bestselling games. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at www.epicgames.com
About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Aion®, Lineage®, Guild Wars®, and City of Heroes® franchises. Announced in August 2011, WildStar™ is the newest MMO being developed by internal team Carbine Studios. NCsoft West is a division of NCsoft that holds operating responsibilities for North America, Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. More information can be found at http://www.NCsoft.com
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of War 3, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.