Le développeur sud coréen Bluehole Studio vient d'annoncer avoir fait l'acquisition de l'Unreal Engine 3 pour le développement d'un MMORPG dont le nom de code est Project S1. Bluehole Studio vient donc s'ajouter sur la très longue liste des développeurs ayant fait confiance à Epic Games pour leur fournir un moteur graphique performant et polyvalent.

L'annonce complète (anglais) se trouve dans la suite de la nouvelle.

SEOUL, KOREA (March 27, 2008) – Bluehole Studio Inc. announced today that it has licensed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for its next-generation, flagship massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for PC, codenamed Project S1.

Founded in March 2007, Bluehole boasts an accomplished development team comprised of key members from some of the leading development and management teams in Korea.

“At Bluehole Studio, we are striving to advance the MMORPG industry by leveraging high quality graphics. Thus, we are very pleased to collaborate with Epic, because Unreal Engine 3 is the best choice for our development framework,” said Yong-hyun Park, chief technical officer of Bluehole.

“Without a doubt, Bluehole is positioned to push the envelope with Unreal Engine 3,” said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic. “Given Bluehole’s pedigree and its ambitious plans to reinvent MMO design and battle system mechanics, Epic is honored to provide the core development tools and infrastructure for this project.”

About Bluehole Studio
Based in Seoul and founded in 2007, Bluehole Studio is an online game developer in pursuit of the next-generation MMORPG. The company has ambitions to create a blockbuster flagship title through innovations in production processes, visual qualities, game designs and technologies. More information about the company and the game, codenamed “Project S1,” will be released from Bluehole Studio in the future.

About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and its best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 maintains those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. Unreal Engine 3's advanced toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained at www.unrealtechnology.com.

About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PlayStation 3. Epic’s breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold over 4 million copies and was awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including the Game Critics Awards’ Best Console Game and Spike TV’s 2007 RPG of the Year Mass Effect by BioWare and the 2007 BAFTA Best Game and Spike TV Game of the Year BioShock by 2K Games. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic was also recognized as 2006 Studio of the Year by Spike TV, 2006 Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine and 2007 Large Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.

Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.