Unreal Engine 3 to Power Marvel Heroes

Gazillion Entertainment hit us up with a press release this afternoon announcing that they’ve just inked a deal with Epic Games to use Unreal Engine 3 for their upcoming superhero MMORPG, Marvel Heroes.  Nothing too surprising, here, though it’s been a wild ride watching Epic go from shareware king to engine-licensing behemoth:

Gazillion Supercharges ‘˜Marvel Heroes’ with Unreal Engine 3

Developer leverages best-in-class game engine technology to create new Super Hero experience

SAN MATEO, Calif. And CARY, N.C. (January 17, 2012) Gazillion Entertainment announces it has licensed Epic Games’ award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) to power its highly anticipated, free-to-play (Marvel Heroes) massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for PC. The licensing agreement enables Gazillion, through its Secret Identity Studios, to use the cutting-edge Unreal Engine toolset to develop a premier entertainment experience that allows players to take on the roles of revered characters such as Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man as they play through events of the Marvel Universe.

(We love Unreal Engine 3’s streaming system. It’s made our entire technical approach possible and is easy to work with,) said Jeff Lind, studio director of Gazillion’s Secret Identity Studios. (We also love the flexibility we get from the actor components, which have empowered us to make all kinds of customizations without sacrificing the built-in features of the engine.)

Secret Identity Studios Art Director Josh Book added, (Our artists love the Unreal Content Browser, the visual art pipeline, and how functional UE3 is with different 3D packages. We had assets in the game within hours of starting work with the engine. In addition, Unreal Lightmass is a very advanced global illumination tool that has helped push the look of our game further than we thought it could go.)

 (Capturing the distinctive moments of such revered fiction within a game environment is no small task, and it’s critical to use the very best tools and technology to deliver the production values fans expect,) said Joe Kreiner, North American licensing manager, Epic Games. (Having grown up with Marvel’s iconic heroes and villains, we’re really honored to help Gazillion and Secret Identity achieve their creative vision and quality bar for the game.)

For more information on (Marvel Heroes,) follow @Marvel and @SecretIDStudios on Twitter, and (Like) Marvel on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Marvel.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information, visit  www.marvel.com.  Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.

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 seven 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 Gazillion

Gazillion Entertainment is a privately held developer and publisher of free-to-play online games for all ages. Gazillion’s games feature revered brands and original properties, superior production quality and unmatched gameplay. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Gazillion has development studios in California and Washington. For more information on Gazillion and its studios please visit  www.gazillion.com.