Leading Korean developer and publisher licenses Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine technology for upcoming action-MMORPG and FPS projects
SEOUL – SmileGate Inc., Korea’s newest gaming powerhouse, has licensed Epic Games’ industry-leading Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) technology for its upcoming projects, codenamed “Project T” and “Project M.” SmileGate’s online first-person shooter “CrossFire” ranks first in the world – with particular success in China – for the highest number concurrent users. The company is now refocusing its efforts to increase its global leadership with a broadly appealing product lineup, all with the support of UE3 tools that have helped ship many of the game industry’s most successful titles.
“Project T” is a blockbuster action-MMORPG, armed with the stunning visuals that can be achieved with Unreal Engine 3, while “Project M” is a next-generation shooter that will establish SmileGate as a masterful developer of FPS experiences – not just in Korea, but for gamers around the world.
UE3 provides SmileGate with proven, stable technology that lends itself to ease of development and a high-quality end product, with an unparalleled content pipeline for the action and FPS genres, allowing SmileGate to concentrate all its resources on making great games with excellent gameplay.
The licensing agreement also contracts Epic Games Korea to give SmileGate technical support with the assistance of Epic Games headquarters and the UE3 licensee community, providing SmileGate’s new projects with a global support network.
“I am completely confident we can present players with the best game possible by combining our advanced development know-how with the technology of Unreal Engine 3,” said Andrew Yang, vice president of SmileGate. “We’re not resting on our laurels after the success of ‘CrossFire.’ We want to get gamers around the world excited about the innovation and beauty of our two upcoming games.”
“Epic Games is well aware of the quality of ‘CrossFire’ and its success around the world,” said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games, who was on hand at a special signing ceremony at SmileGate today. “I think that we at Epic can learn a lot from many aspects of a game like this, especially coming from a proven Korean studio such as SmileGate.”
“We believe in SmileGate as much as they believe in our technology,” said Ray Park, territory manager of Epic Games Korea, who also promised wholeheartedly to provide technical and promotional support for the company’s newest licensee.
About Epic Games Korea
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 http://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 http://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 http://www.epicgames.com.
About SmileGate
SmileGate is an online game company that has been around for a decade. This year marks our 10th anniversary. We created an online FPS game called ‘CrossFire’ that has been ranked first, worldwide. A number of game development projects of various genres from FPS to MMORPG, sports and action are in progress and we are competent to develop the very best with our experiences from the successful game, CrossFire, which was sold in 60 countries with 3.7 million simultaneous PCCU. SmileGate is jumping up to be the No. 1 game company in the world with a dream and the passion to make games can be loved by the world for a long time. More information can be found at http://www.smilegate.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.