Epic Games

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Epic Games, Inc.
Formerly called
  • Potomac Computer Systems (1991)
  • Epic MegaGames, Inc. (1991–1999)
Private
Industry Video game industry
Founded 1991; 26 years ago (1991) in Potomac, Maryland, U.S.[1]
Founders
Headquarters Cary, North Carolina, U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
  • Tim Sweeney (CEO)
  • Mark Rein (VP)
Products
Owner
  • Tim Sweeney, Mark Rein (51.6%)
  • Tencent (48.4%)
Number of employees
 250[2] (2016)
Divisions Epic Games Seattle
Subsidiaries
  • Chair Entertainment
  • Epic Games Berlin
  • Epic Games Japan
  • Epic Games Korea
  • Epic Games United Kingdom
Website epicgames.com

Epic Games, Inc. (formerly Potomac Computer Systems and later Epic MegaGames, Inc.) is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina, partially owned by Tencent. Founded in 1991, it is best known for the development of Unreal Engine technology, which has powered its in-house Unreal, Gears of War and Infinity Blade series as well as many other games, and has been awarded by Guinness World Records as "the most successful video game engine" in the world.[3]

It is the parent company of game developer Chair Entertainment, and also owns game studios in Seattle, Guildford, Berlin, Tokyo, and Seoul. Key developers at Epic Games include chairman, CEO and technical director Tim Sweeney, and lead programmer Steve Polge. Jerry O'Flaherty was the studio art director from 2003 to 2007. Chris Perna has been the art director since O'Flaherty's departure from the company. Cliff Bleszinski, Epic's design director, announced his departure on October 3, 2012.

History[edit]

Potomac Computer Systems (1991)[edit]

Epic Games was founded as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991 by Tim Sweeney in his parents' house in Potomac, Maryland.[1] Initially planned to be a computer consulting firm, the company released its first product, ZZT, the same year, a game that Sweeney created while studying mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland.[1]

Epic MegaGames (1991–1999)[edit]

During the latter portion of ZZT's life span, Potomac Computer Systems became Epic MegaGames and subsequently released numerous popular shareware games, including Overkill, Tyrian, Epic Pinball, Brix, Dare to Dream, Jill of the Jungle, Kiloblaster, Xargon, Solar Winds, Ken's Labyrinth, Jazz Jackrabbit, Radix: Beyond the Void, and One Must Fall: 2097. During this time, Epic also published and sold games developed by other developers such as those by Safari Software and also XLand's Adventures of Robbo, Heartlight, and Electro Man; and Renaissance's Zone 66.

In 1996, Epic MegaGames produced a shareware isometric shooter called Fire Fight, developed by Polish studio Chaos Works. It was later released commercially by Electronic Arts. A year later, Safari Software was acquired in whole by Epic MegaGames and some of their titles as well as other pre-1998 games were sold under the Epic Classics brand until late 2012. In 1998, Epic MegaGames released Unreal, a 3D first-person shooter co-developed with Digital Extremes, which expanded into a series of Unreal games. The company also began to license the core technology, the Unreal Engine, to other game developers.

Epic Games (1999–present)[edit]

In February 1999, IGN reported that the company had changed its name to Epic Games and that it had moved its Rockville office to Cary, North Carolina.[4] Mark Rein, vice president of Epic, explained the decision to move: "Unreal was first created by developers who were scattered across the world," he said. "Eventually, the team came together to finish the game and that's when the real magic started. The move to North Carolina centralizes Epic, bringing all of the company's talented developers under one roof."[4]

The company launched the Make Something Unreal competition in 2004, aiming to reward video game developers who create mods using the Unreal game engine. Tripwire Interactive won US$80,000 in cash and computer hardware prizes over the course of the contest in the first contest in 2004.[5][6] Subsequent competitions ran in 2008, 2012, and 2013.

In 2006, Epic released the Xbox 360 and PC bestseller Gears of War and completed work on Unreal Tournament 3 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. On August 8, 2007 Epic Games acquired the Polish People Can Fly Sp. z o.o. subsequently renaming People Can Fly to Epic Games Poland on November 1, 2013.

On May 20, 2008, Epic Games acquired Utah based Chair Entertainment. Through summer 2009, Epic Games released the Chair-developed Shadow Complex on Xbox Live Arcade. On November 7, 2008, Epic Games released Gears of War 2, the sequel to their bestselling game Gears of War, which continues the story of humanity's struggle against the Locust Horde.

Epic Games released on September 1, 2010 Epic Citadel as a tech demo to demonstrate the Unreal Engine 3 running on Apple iOS, within Adobe Flash Player Stage3D and using HTML5 WebGL technologies. It was also released for Android on January 29, 2013. Epic Games worked on an iOS game, Infinity Blade,[7] which was released on December 9, 2010.[8] The third game in the series, Gears of War 3, which was also developed by Epic, was released on September 20, 2011.[9]

In 2011, Epic's subsidiary Titan Studios was dissolved.[10] At the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, Epic Games announced their new game Fortnite.

In June 2012, Epic announced that it is opening up a new studio, Epic Baltimore, made up of members of 38 Studios' Big Huge Games.[11] Epic Baltimore was renamed to Impossible Studios in August 2012.[12] However, the studio ended up closing its doors in February 2013.[13][14]

In July 2012, Chinese company Tencent Holdings acquired approximately 48.4% of Epic then issued share capital, equating to 40 percent of total Epic — inclusive of both stock and employee stock options, for $330 million. Tencent Holdings has the right to nominate directors to the board of Epic Games and thus counts as an associate of the Group.[15][16] A number of high-profile staff left the company months after the deal was announced.[17] In October 2012, Cliff Bleszinski announced he was leaving Epic Games after 20 years with the company. His official reason was "It's time for a much needed break".[18] Later in December 2012, Epic Games president Mike Capps announced his retirement and cited the reasons as the arrival of a baby boy he was having with his wife and his plans to be a stay-at-home-dad.[19] He subsequently announced his departure of his advisory role as well as his affiliation with the company in March 2013.[20]

On January 27, 2014, Microsoft acquired the Gears of War IP from Epic Games. The first game since the acquisition, Gears of War 4, was released by The Coalition in October 2016, taking over the development duties from Epic.[21]

On May 8, 2014, Epic Games announced a new Unreal Tournament title. The game will be free, open to modding, and essentially developed alongside fans.[22][23]

On June 24, 2015, Epic Games Poland reverted to People Can Fly Sp. z o.o. after Epic Games sold its share in the Polish studio. The Bulletstorm IP was retained by People Can Fly who has since launched a remastered version called Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition on April 7, 2017, published by Gearbox Software.

On November 4, 2015, Epic Games announced a new third-person multiplayer online battle arena game called Paragon. The game was slated for release in 2016, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4, with playable characters expected to be unveiled gradually throughout November.[24] Later in December, Epic Games and Chair Entertainment released Shadow Complex Remastered. Physical copies were released by Limited Run Games while Epic Games' and other digital storefronts handled digital release.

On March 1, 2017, Epic Games launched Robo Recall exclusively on the Oculus Rift, the company's first game for virtual reality. The game received an 8.5 out of 10 rating from IGN.[25] On July 25, Fortnite will enter paid early access, while being released as a free-to-play in 2018.[26][27]

Technology[edit]

Main article: Unreal Engine

Epic is the proprietor of four successful game engines in the video game industry. Each Unreal Engine has a complete feature set of graphical rendering, sound processing, and physics that can be widely adapted to fit the specific needs of a game developer that does not want to code its own engine from scratch. The four engines Epic has created are the Unreal Engine 1, Unreal Engine 2 (including its 2.5 and 2.X releases), Unreal Engine 3, and Unreal Engine 4.

Litigation[edit]

In 2007, Canadian game studio Silicon Knights sued Epic Games for failure to "provide a working game engine", causing the Ontario-based game developer to "experience considerable losses." The suit alleged that Epic Games was "sabotaging" Unreal Engine 3 licensees. Epic's licensing document stated that a working version of the engine would be available within six months of the Xbox 360 developer kits being released. Silicon Knights claimed that Epic not only missed this deadline, but that when a working version of the engine was eventually released, the documentation was insufficient. The game studio also claimed Epic had withheld vital improvements to the game engine, claiming they were "game specific", while also using licensing fees to fund development of its own titles rather than the engine itself.[28]

On August 9, 2007, Epic Games counter-sued Silicon Knights, claiming that it was using its engine without paying royalties.[29] On May 30, 2012, Epic Games defeated Silicon Knights' lawsuit, and won its counter-suit for $4.45 million on grounds of copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and breach of contract.[30] Consistent with Epic's counterclaims, the presiding judge stated that Silicon Knights had "deliberately and repeatedly copied thousands of lines of Epic Games' copyrighted code, and then attempted to conceal its wrongdoing by removing Epic Games' copyright notices and by disguising Epic Games' copyrighted code as Silicon Knights' own."[31]

As a result, on November 7, 2012, Silicon Knights was directed by the court to destroy all game code derived from Unreal Engine 3, all information from licensee-restricted areas of Epic's Unreal Engine documentation website, and to permit Epic Games access to the company's servers and other devices to ensure these items have been removed. In addition, the studio was instructed to recall and destroy all unsold retail copies of games built with Unreal Engine 3 code, including Too Human, X-Men Destiny, The Sandman, The Box/Ritualyst, and Siren in the Maelstrom (the latter three titles were projects never released, or even officially announced).[32]

On May 16, 2014, following the loss of the court case, Silicon Knights was sued until it filed for bankruptcy and a Certificate of Appointment was issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, with Collins Barrow Toronto Limited being appointed as Trustee in Bankruptcy.[33]

Subsidiaries and divisions[edit]

Games developed and/or published[edit]

Year Title Platform Developer(s) Publisher(s)
1991 ZZT MS-DOS Potomac Computer Systems Potomac Computer Systems
1992 Brix MS-DOS Epic MegaGames MicroLeague Interactive Software
1992 OverKill MS-DOS Tech-Noir Epic MegaGames
1992 Kiloblaster MS-DOS Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1992 Jill of the Jungle MS-DOS Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1993 Epic Pinball MS-DOS Digital Extremes Epic MegaGames
1993 Zone 66 MS-DOS Renaissance Epic MegaGames
1993 Solar Winds MS-DOS Stone Interactive Media Epic MegaGames
1993 Castle of the Winds Microsoft Windows SaadaSoft Epic MegaGames
1993 Dare to Dream Microsoft Windows Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1993 Electro Man MS-DOS X LanD Computer Games Epic MegaGames, X LanD Computer Games
1993 Ancients 1: Death Watch MS-DOS Farr-Ware Software Epic MegaGames
1993 Robbo MS-DOS X LanD Computer Games Epic MegaGames, LK Avalon
1993 Xargon MS-DOS Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1994 Ancients II: Approaching Evil MS-DOS Farr-Ware Software Epic MegaGames
1994 Heartlight MS-DOS X LanD Computer Games Epic MegaGames, X LanD Computer Games
1994 Jazz Jackrabbit MS-DOS Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1994 Highway Hunter MS-DOS Omega Integral Systems Safari Software, Epic MegaGames
1994 Traffic Department 2192 MS-DOS P-Squared Productions Safari Software, Epic MegaGames
1995 Tyrian MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows Epic MegaGames Epic MegaGames
1995 Radix: Beyond the Void MS-DOS Neutral Storm Entertainment Epic MegaGames
1996 Seek & Destroy MS-DOS, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Nintendo 64 Vision Software, Silicon Dreams Konami of America, Epic MegaGames, Safari Software, Mindscape, THQ, Bawler & Collins Multimedia
1998 Unreal Microsoft Windows, Mac OS Epic MegaGames, Digital Extremes, Legend Entertainment GT Interactive
1998 Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Microsoft Windows, Mac OS Orange Games, Epic MegaGames Gathering of Developers
1999 Age of Wonders Microsoft Windows Triumph Studios, Epic MegaGames Gathering of Developers
1999 Unreal Tournament Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast Epic Games, Digital Extremes GT Interactive, Infogrames
2002 Unreal Championship Xbox Epic Games, Digital Extremes Atari
2002 Unreal Tournament 2003 Microsoft Windows, OS X Epic Games, Digital Extremes Atari
2004 Unreal Tournament 2004 Microsoft Windows, OS X Epic Games, Digital Extremes, Psyonix, Streamline Studios Atari
2005 Unreal Championship 2 Xbox Epic Games Midway Games
2006 Gears of War Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 Epic Games Microsoft Game Studios
2007 Unreal Tournament 3 Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OnLive Epic Games Midway Games
2008 Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 Epic Games Microsoft Game Studios
2009 Shadow Complex Xbox 360 Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Microsoft Game Studios
2010 Infinity Blade iOS Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Epic Games
2011 Bulletstorm Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 People Can Fly, Epic Games Electronic Arts
2011 Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 Epic Games Microsoft Studios
2011 Infinity Blade 2 iOS Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Epic Games
2013 Gears of War: Judgement Xbox 360 Epic Games, People Can Fly Microsoft Studios
2013 Infinity Blade 3 iOS Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Epic Games
2015 Shadow Complex Remastered Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Epic Games
2016 Paragon Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 Epic Games Epic Games
2017 Robo Recall Oculus Rift Epic Games Epic Games
2017 Fortnite Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Epic Games, People Can Fly Epic Games
TBA Unreal Tournament Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux Epic Games Epic Games
TBA SPYJiNX Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux Chair Entertainment, Bad Robot Interactive Epic Games
TBA Battle Breakers Android, iOS, OS X Chair Entertainment, Epic Games Epic Games

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Edwards, Benj (May 25, 2009). "From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017. 
  2. ^ Crecente, Brian (May 1, 2016). "Lights, camera, graphics: How Epic helps Hollywood". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  3. ^ Unreal Engine, most successful video game engine. "GuinnessWorldRecords on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. 
  4. ^ a b IGN Staff (February 3, 1999). "Epic Sets up Shop". IGN. Retrieved July 13, 2017. 
  5. ^ Graves, Lucas (April 2006). "How the Reds Conquered Unreal". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on May 19, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
  6. ^ IGN Staff (April 3, 2008). "Intel and Epic Games Launch '$1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest'". IGN. Ziff Davis Media. Retrieved July 8, 2013. 
  7. ^ Buchanan, Levi (November 2, 2010). "Project Sword Becomes Infinity Blade". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  8. ^ McWhertor, Michael (September 1, 2010). "Play With The Unreal Engine On Your iPhone With Epic Citadel". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  9. ^ Reilly, Jim (October 1, 2010). "Gears of War 3 Delayed to Fall 2011". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  10. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (July 5, 2011). "Carbon Games formed by Fat Princess devs". Engadget. AOL Tech. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  11. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (June 3, 2012). "Big Huge Games members picked up for Epic Baltimore". Engadget. AOL Tech. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  12. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (August 9, 2012). "Epic Baltimore now Impossible Studios, working on Infinity Blade: Dungeons". Engadget. AOL Tech. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  13. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (February 8, 2013). "Epic Games is closing Impossible Studios, Infinity Blade Dungeons on hold". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  14. ^ Moriarty, Colin (February 8, 2013). "Epic Games Closes Its Newest Studio, Impossible Games". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
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  16. ^ Crecente, Brian (March 21, 2013). "Tencent's $330M Epic Games investment absorbed 40 percent of developer [Updated]". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  17. ^ Makuch, Eddie (March 21, 2013). "Chinese Internet company owns 40 percent of Epic Games". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  18. ^ McWhertor, Michael (October 3, 2012). "'Gears of War' design director Cliff Bleszinski leaves Epic Games". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  19. ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 4, 2012). "Epic Games president retiring". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  20. ^ Gaston, Martin (March 8, 2013). "Former Epic Games president Mike Capps parts ways with studio". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  21. ^ Orland, Kyle (January 27, 2014). "Microsoft buys Gears of War franchise from Epic Games". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  22. ^ Dyer, Mitch (May 8, 2014). "Epic Games Reveals Free, Crowdsourced Unreal Tournament". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  23. ^ Makuch, Eddie (July 25, 2014). "New Unreal Tournament in development, and it'll be absolutely free". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  24. ^ Moscaritolo, Angela (November 4, 2015). "Epic Games Teases New PC Shooter 'Paragon'". PCMag UK. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  25. ^ Stapleton, Dan (2017-03-01). "Robo Recall Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017. 
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-06. 
  27. ^ Hall, Charlie (June 8, 2017). "Fortnite announces early access release, hands-on the unfinished game". Polygon. Retrieved June 8, 2018.  Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  28. ^ Carless, Simon (July 19, 2007). "Breaking: Silicon Knights Files Lawsuit Against Epic". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  29. ^ Chalk, Andy (August 9, 2007). "Epic Launches Counterclaim Against Silicon Knights". The Escapist. Defy Media. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  30. ^ Totilo, Stephen (May 30, 2012). "Epic Says Epic Has Won Lawsuit Battle With Silicon Knights [UPDATE: Epic Awarded $4.45 Million]". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  31. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (November 9, 2012). "Epic judgment doubled, Silicon Knights ordered to pay over $9 million". VG247. Videogaming247. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  32. ^ Sawyer, D. (November 7, 2012). "Silicon Knights, Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc.". Justia. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  33. ^ Wong, Brenda (May 16, 2014). "Silicon Knights Inc.". Collins Barrow. Collins Barrow National Cooperative. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016. 
  34. ^ Boyer, Brandon (May 20, 2008). "Epic Games Acquires Undertow Developer Chair". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 
  35. ^ Alexander, Leigh (May 20, 2008). "Epic Snags Undertow Developer Chair Entertainment Group". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 
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  38. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (June 29, 2009). "Epic Games opens Korean shop". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 
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  40. ^ Schramm, Mike (April 12, 2010). "Epic Games planning gala celebration to open Tokyo office". Engadget. AOL Tech. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 
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  43. ^ Peel, Jeremy (September 6, 2012). "Epic Games to launch new Seattle studio, hiring engineers for Unreal Engine 4". PCGamesN. Network N. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017. 
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External links[edit]

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