Unreal Engine 3, the game engine that powers Bulletstorm, Gears of War 3 and BioShock Infinite, now works in Flash.
Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 really gets around. If you play videogames, it’s almost certain that you’ve played at least a couple that were built on UE3 technology. Some are obvious – Unreal Tournament 3, anyone? – but others might surprise you, like Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust or Zumba Fitness. And with the addition of Flash support, that stable is poised to get a whole lot bigger.
Imagine, if you will, Facebook games that don’t suck. There are already a few that fit that description but UE3 support in Flash opens up a realm of possibilities that go way beyond anything we’ve seen so far. Quake Live has already demonstrated that “real” browser-based gaming is possible but making it happen through Flash is a whole different ballgame. Epic claims the technology will allow developers to “animate millions of objects with smooth 60 frames per second rendering and deliver console-quality games on Mac OS, Windows and connected televisions.”
“With UE3 and Flash, games built for high-end consoles can now run on the Web or as Facebook apps, reaching an enormous user base,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. “This totally changes the playing field for game developers who want to widely deploy and monetize their games.”
Looks like you’re going to be playing games on Facebook after all.
