Unreal Engine
Hardware, storefront and ecosystem news for Unreal Engine.
EVE Online studio Fenris follows through on yearslong promise to make its in-house game engine fully open sourceFenris Creations, the studio behind EVE Online, has fully open-sourced its in-house Carbon Engine, making its repositories available on GitHub. This move fulfills a long-standing promise and contrasts with the industry trend towards proprietary engines like Unreal Engine. The engine powers EVE Online and EVE Frontier, while Fenris's new FPS project, EVE Vanguard, uses Unreal Engine.
Senior Unreal Engine engineer Nicholas Penwarden leaves Epic Games after 15 yearsNicholas Penwarden, an Engineering Fellow at Epic Games, has departed the company after a 15-year tenure. Penwarden, who began his career at Epic in 2011 as a senior engine programmer for Unreal Engine, announced his exit via a LinkedIn post.
Former Unreal Engine 'evangelist' and level design legend Sjoerd De Jong leaves Epic GamesSjoerd De Jong, a prominent Unreal Engine expert and former lead evangelist at Epic Games, has departed the company after 12 years. De Jong, who has a history with Unreal Engine dating back to his teenage years modding the original game, cited a desire to move forward in the ever-changing games industry as his reason for leaving.
Epic's Unreal Engine Rolls Out Major Update, Lumen Lite Mode Now Available For Switch 2Epic Games has released Unreal Engine 5.8, introducing a new 'Lumen Lite' mode for its dynamic global illumination system. This feature is designed to significantly reduce GPU costs, making it viable for platforms like the Nintendo Switch 2, where it can enable 60 fps performance. The update also includes optimizations for Nanite and is the last major planned update for Unreal Engine 5 before work shifts to Unreal Engine 6.
Unreal Engine 5.8 launches with improved terrain and vegetation tools, a Lumen Lite option for faster global illumination, and for the times we now live in, an open standard plugin for LLM systemsUnreal Engine 5.8 has been released, introducing experimental features like Mesh Terrain and Procedural Vegetation Editor, alongside a production-ready MegaLights system and a faster Lumen Lite option for global illumination. The update also includes an experimental plugin for Large Language Models (LLMs), allowing for AI integration in asset creation and development tasks. Epic Games highlights that Lumen Lite is optimized for platforms like the Nintendo Switch, potentially enabling 60fps performance.- Morning MobilizationArm Holdings has developed new technology enabling the use of Unreal Engine's MegaLights on mobile devices. Separately, a teardown of the 'Trump Phone' revealed it to be an HTC U24 Pro.
The Hidden Long-Term Costs of Choosing the Wrong Game EngineChoosing the right game engine is a critical long-term business decision with significant cost implications throughout a game's lifecycle, not just a technical one. Proprietary and niche engines often lead to higher costs in talent acquisition, platform compatibility, and post-launch support compared to widely adopted commercial engines like Unreal Engine, which benefit from larger talent pools and established tooling.
Epic reveals first Unreal Engine 6 game, and it's not FortniteEpic Games has announced Unreal Engine 6 during the Rocket League Championship Series Paris Major, with Rocket League being the first game to feature the new engine. This marks a significant upgrade from Unreal Engine 3, which Rocket League has been using since its release. The announcement highlights the engine's importance to the gaming industry and its use beyond games in CGI production.
Former Epic tech director announces The Immense Engine, his AI-heavy "European alternative" to UnrealFormer Epic Games technical director and Guerrilla Games co-founder Arjan Brussee has announced The Immense Engine, a new game engine he is developing with a focus on European hosting and AI integration. Brussee claims the engine will be a European alternative to Unreal Engine and Unity, and also touts potential applications for the defense industry through simulation and training.
Guerrilla Games Co-Founder, Former Epic Games Developer is Building a New “European” Game EngineArjan Brussee, co-founder of Guerrilla Games and former Epic Games developer, is creating a new European game engine called Immense Engine. The engine aims to be fully hosted and compliant with European regulations, offering an alternative to US and China-based engines. It will feature integrated AI tools and a design philosophy that differs from current engines like Unreal Engine.
GREEN MAN GAMING LAUNCHES THE ULTIMATE AUDIO SOFTWARE BUNDLE FOR GAME DEVELOPMENTGreen Man Gaming has launched 'Ovani Presents The Legendary Launch Bundle,' a charity bundle supporting Dysautonomia International. The bundle offers over $1,000 worth of royalty-free music, sound effects, and engine plugins for Godot, Unity, and Unreal Engine, starting at $5.
GREEN MAN GAMING LAUNCHES SOFTWARE CHARITY BUNDLES AS A CAREER STARTER KIT FOR THE GAMING COMMUNITYGreen Man Gaming has launched new software charity bundles, expanding its platform to include productivity, creative, and game development tools. The first bundle, "The GameDev.tv Bundle," supports Safe In Our World and offers resources for Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender, and Godot, aiming to provide a career starter kit for aspiring developers.
April 2026: Switch 2 Drops Fortnite, GTA, Mario & Perso... | TAGMultiple reports indicate potential price increases for the Nintendo Switch 2, with experts suggesting a price point over $450 by year's end due to rising component costs. Meanwhile, Kena: Bridge of Spirits receives a Switch 2 port that offers little improvement over previous versions. Sony is also reportedly increasing prices for the PlayStation 5 lineup, with a PS5 Pro potentially costing $900.- AMD's Ryzen 9950X3D2 chip features an incredible 208MB of on-chip cacheAMD has unveiled the Ryzen 9950X3D2 Dual Edition desktop processor, featuring 208MB of on-chip cache across both chiplets, a first for their desktop CPUs. This new processor, based on the Zen 5 architecture, offers a 16-core configuration and an increased 200W TDP. AMD claims it will provide a 5-10% performance boost for both gaming and creative workloads, with availability set for April 22.
AMD announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processorAMD has officially announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor, the first to feature dual AMD 3D V-Cache technology. This new CPU boasts 16 Zen 5 cores and 208MB of total cache, promising 5-10% performance gains in creative workloads and large-scale builds compared to the previous generation. It is set to launch on April 22nd and supports the AM5 socket.
Epic Games lays off over 1000 employees, blames declining interest in FortniteEpic Games has laid off over 1000 employees, citing a significant downturn in Fortnite engagement and financial losses. CEO Tim Sweeney stated that the company is spending more than it earns, necessitating these cuts and other cost-saving measures. Concurrently, Epic announced the shutdown of several Fortnite modes, including Rocket Racing and Festival Battle Stage, due to a failure to attract and retain a large player base.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says 'employers will see a stream of resumes of once-in-a-lifetime quality' after the company laid off more than 1,000 peopleEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced that the company has laid off over 1,000 employees and cut significant costs, stating that the company is still spending more than it earns. Sweeney noted that the layoffs were not performance-based and that affected employees represent top talent. The company cited a downturn in Fortnite engagement and lower sales of current-generation consoles as reasons for the financial struggles.
"I'm sorry we're here again," says Epic Games CEO as Fortnite maker lays off over 1000 employeesEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced layoffs affecting over 1000 employees, citing industry-wide challenges and a decline in Fortnite's popularity since 2025. The company is also implementing significant cost-saving measures across various departments to ensure financial stability.
GDC: Ramen Acquisition of Coplay Brings Together the Best-In-Class Multi-agent AI Assistants for Unreal Engine and Unity Under One RoofRamen has acquired Coplay, integrating Coplay's AI tool for Unity with Ramen's Aura AI assistant for Unreal Engine. This combined offering aims to be the first AI assistant to support 80% of all game platforms and work across both major game engines. Ramen CEO Andy Tsen highlighted the synergy, bringing together the best of AI development for both Unity and Unreal developers.
'The reason why we're so beloved in the videogame industry and we're so deep in it still is, in a lot of…Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang asserted that his company created the modern video game industry and is crucial to its continued success, particularly through its advancements in 3D graphics and AI. While acknowledging Nvidia's significant contributions to game engines like Unreal Engine and the overall gaming ecosystem, the article notes that the relationship between Nvidia and gamers has been complex due to factors like graphics card pricing and performance debates, suggesting gamers may not be the top priority despite the technological impact.