Game Engines
Ongoing coverage on Game Engines.
Latest coverage
Pearl Abyss Releases Crimson Desert Globally - GameHaunt
Pearl Abyss has announced that Crimson Desert will launch globally on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Mac, Epic Games Store, and ROG Xbox Ally. The open-world action-adventure game features full voice acting in English, Korean, and Chinese, with subtitles in 14 languages. Players will step into the role of Kliff, a warrior tasked with reuniting his scattered people and reclaiming their home.
Colossal Order's biggest mistake working on Cities: Skylines 2? Banking on not-quite-ready Unity features
Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Colossal Order, stated that the studio overestimated Unity's capabilities during the development of Cities: Skylines 2, banking on unfinalized features. This led to significant development hurdles as the team had to build or replace missing functionalities. Despite these challenges, Hallikainen expressed a positive relationship with Unity and confirmed Colossal Order is working on a new PC simulation game using the same engine.
Ubisoft is Ending Game Development at Tom Clancy Studio Red Storm Entertainment and Laying Off 105
Ubisoft is reportedly ending game development at its Red Storm Entertainment studio, resulting in the layoff of 105 employees. The studio will transition to a support role for IT and the company's Snowdrop engine. This move is part of a larger restructuring effort by Ubisoft, which has also led to game cancellations and delays.
Sustainable Games Alliance drives game engine energy efficiency with new power-saving plugins
The Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA) has released three new power-saving plugins for Unreal Engine, Unity, and Godot to improve energy efficiency in game development. These plugins dynamically reduce frame rates and rendering resolution during player idle times, potentially extending battery life on handheld devices by up to 15% and reducing carbon emissions. The initiative aims to foster industry-wide collaboration on sustainability.
Ubisoft Just Ceased Game Development At The Studio That Created Rainbow Six - Report
Ubisoft subsidiary Red Storm Entertainment has reportedly laid off over 100 developers and ceased active game development. The studio, co-founded by Tom Clancy and known for creating the Rainbow Six series, will now focus on supporting the Snowdrop game engine, IT services, and customer relations. This shift follows the cancellation of The Division Heartland and a Splinter Cell VR game, and the underperformance of Assassin's Creed Nexus VR.
Cities: Skylines 2 boss says they 'completely overestimated' the Unity engine's capabilities
Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have parted ways on Cities: Skylines 2, with Iceflake Studios now handling patches for the city builder due to optimization and feature issues. Colossal Order is moving forward with a new PC simulation game, also in Unity, but plans to use the engine more effectively.
Elder Scrolls 6 Development Could Go Smoother Than Starfield For A Key Reason
Todd Howard, studio head at Bethesda Game Studios, stated that The Elder Scrolls 6's development should be smoother than Starfield's due to improved use of their Creation Engine 3. The team is focused on refining the engine alongside development, avoiding the challenges faced during Starfield's creation with Creation Engine 2. Howard also confirmed Bethesda's commitment to their proprietary engine over alternatives like Unreal Engine.
Starfield’s Development Taught Bethesda Lessons About Handling the Engine for The Elder Scrolls 6
Bethesda director Todd Howard revealed that the development of Starfield provided valuable lessons for handling the Creation Engine, which has been upgraded to Creation Engine 3 for The Elder Scrolls 6. Despite initial challenges in the transition, the team is reportedly happy with the current state of the technology and its progress.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Has “The Majority of This Building” Working On It, Says Todd Howard
Todd Howard, director of The Elder Scrolls 6, stated that the majority of Bethesda Game Studios' developers are working on the upcoming RPG. He also mentioned that the game will be significantly different from previous titles like Starfield and Fallout, and that the studio has made substantial improvements to its Creation Engine for its development.
"We've really done a good job... with Starfield, we struggled" - Bethesda boss Todd Howard offers brief The Elder Scrolls 6 update, hints at more efficient development this time
Bethesda boss Todd Howard provided an update on The Elder Scrolls 6, stating that lessons learned from Starfield's development, particularly regarding engine integration and managing technical changes, are being applied. He indicated that the game's builds are consistently working, a significant improvement over Starfield's earlier development stages. Howard also humorously downplayed the game's existence, advising fans to pretend the 2018 announcement never happened.
Crimson Desert Looks Like A Masterclass In Graphics
Crimson Desert is being developed with Pearl Abyss's proprietary BlackSpace engine, aiming for unparalleled realism through advanced graphical features like ray tracing, volumetric fog, and realistic water rendering. The article highlights how the custom engine allows for seamless open-world exploration and dynamic environmental interactions, with a focus on achieving film-level visual fidelity and smooth performance on PC.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards 2026
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has won Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2026. Lightspeed Studios, a Tencent subsidiary, also revealed its new proprietary development framework, which prioritizes artistic identity and direction over raw graphical power.
Pearl Abyss Unveils PC and Console Performance Specs for Crimson Desert - GameHaunt
Pearl Abyss has revealed the PC and console performance specifications for Crimson Desert, set to launch on March 20, 2025. The open-world action RPG will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Mac, with detailed requirements for various performance targets including 4K at 60fps on high-end PCs and consoles. The game utilizes Pearl Abyss's proprietary BlackSpace Engine.
Crimson Desert PC, Console, and Mac Specs Revealed by Pearl Abyss — Too Much Gaming | Video Games Reviews, News, & Guides
Pearl Abyss has revealed the PC and console system requirements for their upcoming open-world game, Crimson Desert. The developers are optimistic about the game's polish, noting it went gold in January. The game is built on Pearl Abyss's proprietary BlackSpace Engine and is expected to feature a main story lasting 50-80 hours.
Helldivers 2 is Getting Trench Warfare-Focused Entrenched Division Premium Warbond on March 17th
Arrowhead Game Studios is releasing the "Entrenched Division" Premium Warbond for Helldivers 2 on March 17th, featuring trench warfare-themed weapons, armor, and cosmetics. The update includes new items like the B/FLAM-80 Cremator flamethrower and the A/GM-17 Gas Mortar Sentry. CEO Shams Jorjani also commented on the studio's past underinvestment in technology, including their use of the Autodesk Stingray engine.
Helldivers 2 devs "underinvested" in the shooter's engine, Arrowhead CEO admits, who pledges "things can/will get better" despite recent improvements
Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani admitted that the studio "underinvested" in the engine for Helldivers 2, leading to recurring technical issues and a large PC file size. While acknowledging improvements have been made, Jorjani pledged that the team is committed to further enhancing the game's stability and performance.
Slay the Spire 2 Makes History as First Godot Game to Hit 100K Players
Slay the Spire 2 has achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first game developed with the Godot engine to reach 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. This accomplishment highlights the growing capabilities of open-source game engines and their potential for commercial success, challenging the dominance of established engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
A decade before Stalker, this obscure Ukrainian Quake clone was quietly breaking new ground for first-person shooters
Chasm: The Rift, an obscure Ukrainian first-person shooter from 1997 developed by Action Forms, predated S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and introduced innovative features for its time. Despite its visual similarities to Quake, Chasm utilized a unique homebrew engine and featured surprising elements like detailed dismemberment and a more involved narrative structure for the era, though its gameplay was more methodical and less fluid than its contemporaries.
Like many others, I, too, came back to CS:GO—and my nostalgia lied to me
The author returned to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive after its surprise re-release on Steam, only to find that nostalgia had exaggerated its differences from Counter-Strike 2. Despite some minor variations and the absence of certain game modes in CS2, the core gameplay experience remains largely identical between the two titles.
'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.
