Unreal Engine Goes Free

It had been rumored a couple weeks ago, and now it's confirmed. Epic Games is indeed opening up its Unreal Engine to the community at large. The studio today announced the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), which is downloadable for free at this website. This special version of the Unreal Engine 3 toolset gives aspiring developers, students, hobbyists and everyone else access to many of the same features used to build hits like Gears of War, Unreal Tournament and countless other titles.

Epic said it will continue to release upgraded builds of UDK. The company pointed out that over 100 academic campuses are already using the Unreal Technology as part of teaching game development-related courses. Colleges with plans to incorporate UDK into their curricula include the University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina State University, The Art Institute system of schools, Drexel University, Westwood College, DeVry University and Atlantic College, and others.

“I’m excited about the possibilities the Unreal Development Kit opens to those who are looking to get into the game business but don’t otherwise have the means to acquire world-class technology and tools like ours,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “UDK is Unreal Engine 3, which has been used to create games in a wide range of genres, as well as military simulations, 3D architectural walkthroughs, animated movies and more. Users are only limited by their imaginations. Go ahead make something Unreal!”