NEWS // EPIC GAMES UK | ALPHA THE ENGINE BEHIND THE GROWTH
2014 HAS ALREADY been a big year for Epic Games. In March, the company launched Unreal Engine 4 – it’s most powerful technology yet – with a drastically different business model.
Unreal subscribers are now able to access the engine – including source code and all of the tools Epic uses to make its own titles – for a low monthly fee. It’s a bold move, but one that has more than paid off for the company. “We’ve been amazed by the response to Epic’s release of Unreal Engine 4’s complete tools and source code,” founder Tim Sweeney told Develop.
While Epic Games UK will primarily work on Unreal Engine 4, there is scope for team members to help with games like Fortnite
“Over the years we’ve increased our headcount to the point that we’re making very significant contributions – it feels like we’re already part of Epic. The integration of Pitbull as an Epic Games studio seems like a no-brainer for all of us. Everybody here is stoked this is happening, and very excited to see what comes next.” Davis added: “Pitbull’s engineering talent has helped us build a better UE4 and given us more horsepower to keep moving forward. Not only have they brought great programming know-how to our efforts but they have also provided fresh perspectives and insights into how we can make our technology better. They’ve been a great partner in helping us bring UE4 to developers everywhere and we’re excited to have them as officially part of the Epic family.”
EPIC EXPANSION
The move means a new role for Troughton, who will serve as general manager of Epic Games UK. In this position he will oversee UK operations, ensuring that local offices operate efficiently, recruit new people and work with UE4 devs around Europe. “Essentially, I’m doing everything I can to make sure that Epic Games UK is a huge success and that it continues to be a valuable asset,” he said. “Unreal Engine 4 is already by far the best engine available for developers – and now, with a re-invigorated recruitment push aimed at only the very best talent that the industry has to offer, we can take this even further and accelerate the implementation of new features.
“It’s a very, very exciting time to become part of Epic
DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
“A large and rapidly growing community has sprung up, developing all kinds of games, and also fuelling a new level of interest amongst triple-A developers.” Unreal Engine general manager Ray Davis added: “The response has been gone beyond anything we anticipated. Having a large audience of developers trying to build all sorts of diverse projects on the engine has generated a large amount of feedback, which we’ve in turn used to guide our development efforts for the next release. “We’ll continue to listen to the community to evolve UE4 into a platform that’s well-suited for building any type of game, and we’ll continue to improve all of the aspects that are necessary to ensure a great development experience.” Epic Games already publishes its plans for UE4 at
unrealengine.com/roadmap, where users are able to vote on future features. So far, interest has emerged in more mobile development support, as well as several requests around the UE4 Marketplace.
Games – and every single Pitbull employee is super excited to be a part of that.” As Troughton says, the creation of Epic Games UK has kicked off a new recruitment drive, bringing in fresh talent to help bolster the studio.
We’re building a
world-class talent pool in the UK. Tim Sweeney, Epic Games
Among the newest
additions has been Michael Troughton, who joins from the nearby Ubisoft Reflections as lead programmer. An industry veteran of 21 years, he has held a number of senior positions – most recently as director of technology at Reflections – and is keen to get to grips with the popular Unreal Engine. “It’s an incredible
opportunity to work on the Unreal Engine 4 platform, pushing hardware to its screaming limits, whilst also empowering games creators with the tools to create the most fulfilling gameplay experiences,” he told Develop.
“Epic is one of, if not the most forward-thinking games developers in the Western world. They’re poised to really take advantage of their class-leading technology across a new gaming arena. “We already have a hugely talented team, and I want to see Epic Games UK grow into one of Europe’s premier development houses. I’ve worked in many areas of development in my career so far, and I intend to use that knowledge and expertise to continue to improve UE4’s performance on every platform, from mobile devices to super-charged gaming PCs.” Golding adds that there are plenty of other opportunities at the studio: “We have UK-specific roles, including academic evangelist,
community manager, support tech artist and programmer. “Several positions on the Epic careers page may now be filled locally. If you think you have the skills and are excited about working for Epic in the UK, please do get in touch.”
ARE YOU EPIC?
As Sweeney and Golding both mentioned, Epic is looking for the best UK talent and its recent hires encourage more developers to apply.
“We’re working hard to enable that as we recognise the value it brings for smaller development teams looking for content or plugins to augment their projects,” said Davis. “Finally, we’re continuing to invest in features that push the bleeding edge of what’s possible on modern hardware, highlighting not only what today’s leading consoles are capable of, but also hinting at what the next big step in games development will be.”
www.unrealengine.com
Unreal Engine 4 has benefited greatly from its new subscription model
“It takes a special kind of person to work at Epic,” says Michael Troughton. “We want people looking to push the boundaries every day. You need to be exceptional in everything you do, driven and very self-motivated.
“In return you’ll work in a great environment with extremely talented people, and contribute to ground- breaking tech and tools. Everyone here has a voice and can influence the choices made in the development of Unreal Engine 4.”
Epic Games’ expansion into the UK is a significant step for
the company, and a testament to how big the tools provider and development behemoth has become.
The new UK base adds to a widespread empire of international studios, with Epic outlets in Poland, South Korea and Japan.
“Epic is not a high-growth company by nature, but at this point in 2014 we’re expanding to meet the enormous opportunity we see with our engine and next generation of games,” says Sweeney. You can check out the vacancies available at
www.epicgames.com/careers
AUGUST 2014 | 05
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