Tag: Epic Games

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Unreal Engine 5 to serve as the backbone for the next Witcher title

Warsaw, Poland-based CDProjekt RED (CDPR) announced on Monday, March 21st that the next instalment of its Witcher series is currently in development and that it’s being built on Unreal Engine 5.

The franchise is transitioning from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5, marking “a multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games.” While that means future games would utilize the Epic Games-developed engine, CDPR Cyberpunk 2077 and its upcoming expansion are and will continue to use the company’s proprietary REDengine technology.

Other titles utilizing Unreal Engine 5 include Fortnite, The Matrix Awakens and the upcoming Redfall.

The developer did not share any other information about the upcoming title, so we don’t have a tentative release schedule, though they made it clear that their relationship with Epic Games will go further than just utilizing its engine for the Witcher title. “We’ll closely collaborate with Epic Games’ developers with the primary goal being to help tailor the engine for open-world experiences,” reads CDPR’s release about the upcoming title.

CDPR’s global PR director Radek Grabowski clarified in a following tweet that the successor to Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won’t necessarily be called Witcher 4, and the strategic partnership with Epic won’t limit the game to one storefront.

That being said, don’t expect to play the game anytime soon. CDPR is likely to take its good time with the development, especially after the bug-filled blunder of a release that was Cyberpunk 2077.

Image credit: @witchergame 

Source: @witchergame

 

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There are now more than 500 million Epic Games accounts: Epic

Epic Games has revealed that users have created more than 500 million Epic Games accounts.

The company didn’t reveal any further details, so it’s unclear how many people are actively using their accounts and buying games.

For years, Epic has been trying to position the Epic Games Store as a competitor to Steam through initiatives like lower revenue cuts from developers, free games and exclusives. The company has also acquired studios like Psyonix (Rocket League) and Mediatonic (Fall Guys).

However, it’s unclear exactly how well those efforts have been paying off. Based on findings from the Epic v. Apple trial, we know that Epic had racked up $330 million USD (about $418.6 million CAD) in unrecouped costs in 2020 alone from compensating companies for offering their free EGS games.

Of course, Epic isn’t hurting by any stretch. Fortnite alone continues to print money, while countless companies license its Unreal Engine platform. With respect to that latter point, Epic says nearly 50 percent of announced “next-gen” games (presumably meaning PS5/Xbox Series X and S) are being developed with its engine. Non-gaming properties like The Mandalorian also use Unreal Engine.

As well, Epic confirmed that more than six million people have downloaded the free “next-gen” Matrix Awakens experience, which was a tech demo for Unreal Engine 5.

Via: VentureBeat

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White House, 35 states, Microsoft back Epic’s App Store appeal

The White House, 35 U.S. states and Microsoft have filed ‘amicus curiae’ briefs supporting Epic Games in its appeal in the antitrust case against Apple.

9to5Mac explains that third parties not directly involved in cases may want a say, particularly when the case has significant public interest. Third parties can file amicus curiae — literally “friend of the court” — briefs with advice for the judge. These briefs all essentially argue the original judge made a legal error in deciding how a key antitrust law applies to Apple.

To refresh your memory, the original ruling concluded that Apple didn’t meet the legal tests to be considered a monopoly but did rule that Apple had to allow developers to use third-party payment platforms if they want. Apple and Epic have both filed appeals on different aspects of the ruling, with Epic focusing on the conclusion that Apple isn’t a monopoly.

Foss Patents detailed the three amicus briefings. The first was submitted by Utah’s state attorney general and included 34 other state attorneys general (AGs). Foss Patents notes the list is basically the same as the states suing Google alongside Epic in a separate antitrust case. The list is as follows:

“The states–led by the Beehive State–are (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C. (I’m not taking a position on the controversial question of statehood here), Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah (submitter), Vermont, and Washington.”

The states’ argument focuses on Section 1 of the Sherman Act, a key piece of U.S. antitrust legislation. A short explanation from 9to5 is that Section 1 says companies can’t make agreements among themselves to distort competition (for example, several companies agreeing to charge the same price for something). Section 2, however, says that companies in a dominant position can’t take unilateral actions designed to give themselves a monopoly.

Foss Patents explains that the focus on Section 1 is strange for the Epic v. Apple case but notes that it stems from the states’ own case against Google.

The White House claims not to support either party, but its arguments back Epic

Microsoft’s amicus brief focuses on “Apple’s extraordinary gatekeeper power” and serves as an example of another ‘Big Tech’ company concerned and impacted by Apple’s conduct.

Finally, the White House filed its own amicus brief, claiming that it’s “in support of neither party” before laying out several arguments that support important elements of Epic’s case, including that Section 2 of the Sherman Act should apply to Apple. Foss Elements has a great breakdown of the brief here.

However, it’s important to note that these amicus briefings do not mean Epic will win its appeal. A judge is obliged to consider amicus brief arguments but ultimately makes their own decision. Still, the sheer amount of support behind Epic in the appeal is impressive and could definitely lead to a ruling in Epic’s favour.

Source: 9to5Mac, Foss Patents, (2)

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Epic Games files opening appeal brief, seeks to overturn App Store ruling

Fortnite-maker Epic Games filed its opening briefing to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The company seeks to overturn the previous ruling in its lawsuit against Apple, which determined that the iPhone-makers control over the App Store doesn’t qualify as a monopoly.

As pointed out by The Verge, this marks the first time Epic has laid out its appeal argument at length since the company announced it would appeal the decision in September.

Epic wrote in the filing that the “district court’s factual findings make clear that Apple’s conduct is precisely what the antitrust laws prohibit.”

The company reiterated allegations that Apple requires developers to exclusively use its App Store to distribute apps and use its in-app payment processing platform. It’s worth noting in-app payments are one area where the courts sided with Epic, handing down an injunction against Apple that required it to allow third-party payment systems on iOS apps.

However, Apple was granted a stay on that injunction while the company appeals the ruling. Apple previously called the ruling a “resounding victory.”

In the original ruling handed down in September 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined that Apple was engaging in some anti-competitive practices, but wrote that the “court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under either federal or state antitrust laws.”

Since then, both companies have appealed the ruling and Epic’s CEO has frequently complained about Apple on Twitter.

Via: The Verge

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Appeals court grants Apple a stay on implementing changes from Epic ruling

The U.S. Court of Appeals placed a stay a prior ruling that Apple would need to allow developers to include links to alternative payment methods outside of Apple’s in-app payment system.

An injunction issued Wednesday afternoon doesn’t reverse the earlier ruling but does put the enforcement on hold until the appeals court can fully hear the case. That process will likely take months.

“Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court’s determination. Therefore, we grant Apple’s motion to stay part (i) of paragraph (1) of the permanent injunction. The stay will remain in effect until the mandate issues in this appeal,” reads the injunction.

The stay comes after Apple sought to delay the December 9th deadline to implement those changes on the App Store. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Apple’s delay request in November, accusing the company of attempting to extend the deadline by years.

It’s worth noting, however, that the stay only applies to the alternate payments portion of Rogers’ ruling, and not to the second part about user communications, which required Apple to allow developers to communicate with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers from within apps.

Moreover, The Verge points out that Apple will still be bound by its agreement with the Japan Fair Steering Commission, which will see the company let ‘reader’ apps (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon’s Kindle app, etc.) directly link their customers to their own sign-up sites.

Source: The Verge, 9to5Mac

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This clip of Keanu Reeves’ Neo isn’t actually real — it’s from Epic’s Unreal Engine 5

As part of the lead-up to The Matrix Resurrections, Warner Bros. has teased a new The Matrix-themed experience for gaming consoles called The Matrix Awakens.

A full reveal of the experience will be shown at The Game Awards on December 9th, but WB says The Matrix Awakens is entirely made in Fortnite creator Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. In other words, the brief glimpse we get of Keanu Reeves’ Neo asking “how do we know what is real?” is, in fact, not real — it’s entirely digital.

Reeves, as well as fellow Canadian and The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), will reprise their respective roles in The Matrix Awakens. The pair will appear at The Game Awards to formally unveil the title.

“Created by members of the original movie team including Lana Wachowski along with Epic Games and partners, ‘The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience’ is a wild ride into the reality-bending universe of ‘The Matrix’ that features performances by Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss,” reads Warner Bros.’ official description of the experience.

Given that this is an “experience,” you shouldn’t expect a full-sized, playable game; it’s definitely just going to be more of a tech demo. Still, it’s an impressive showcase for the ever-growing medium of gaming, in which technology is continuously being pushed to achieve photorealistic visuals.

The Matrix Awakens can be pre-loaded for free on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In the meantime, Canadians can enter Warner Bros. Canada’s special QR-themed contest for a chance to win a trip to the Canadian premiere of The Matrix Resurrections, at which Reeves and Moss will appear.

Co-written and directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections opens exclusively in theatres on December 22nd.

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Epic Games Black Friday sale offers hit titles for up to 75 percent off

For ‘Black Friday’ 2021, Epic Games is offering titles up to 75 percent off until November 30th, including games like Far Cry 6, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Back 4 Blood, Hitman 3 and more.

We’ve highlighted some of the notable titles below:

You can check out the full sale here.

Source: Epic Games 

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Google created a ‘Fortnite Task Force’ after Epic launched game outside the Play Store

Epic Games responded to Google’s countersuit over Fortnite on Android Monday, citing details about the search giant’s ‘Fortnite Task Force’ intended to deter developers from following Epic and launching apps and games outside the Play Store.

As a quick refresher, Epic Games — the company behind the massively popular Fortnite game — sued Google after the company removed Fortnite from the Play Store. The move came after Epic pushed out an update to the game that gave players the option to buy in-game items through Google’s payment system or directly from Epic at a reduced price. Epic also sued Apple for similar reasons. The focus so far has been on whether the app stores offered by Apple and Google are monopolies, with Epic using some more contentious store policies to support the argument.

The Apple trial has been the central stage of conflict between developers and the companies behind some of the largest digital storefronts. Following the verdict in the Epic v. Apple suit — which mostly came down in Apple’s favour, although the judge did require Apple to permit developers to offer alternate payment options — the spotlight has shifted to the Google lawsuit.

Google’s task force used a security issue to deter sideloading Fortnite

In October, Google countersued Epic, claiming the game-maker intentionally breached its developer contract with the Fortnite update that added an alternate payment method. However, in a filing on Monday, Epic responded by highlighting Google’s alleged efforts to control Android app distribution with the ‘Fortnite Task Force.’

Bloomberg reported that Google created the task force in 2018 — as a reminder, Epic originally released Fortnite outside of Google’s Play Store. People who wanted to download the game needed to install it from Epic’s website (in a process known as sideloading) or if they had a Samsung smartphone, could install it through Samsung’s Galaxy Store.

Epic cited internal Google documents in the filing, which alleged that the task force used a potential security problem with Fortnite to put the game in a bad light. When someone finds a security issue, standard practice is to give the developer 90 days to patch the problem before publicizing the details. However, Epic alleges that Google’s task force took the information to “friendlies” in the media within nine days.

Further, Epic accused Google of rushing to get the word out in the filing, saying the company wanted to “deter developers from launching outside of Google Play and maintain Google’s monopoly over Android app distribution.”

Google responded in a statement Monday. The search giant defended its actions, saying it took steps to protect users from the security flaw and doubled down on the accusation that Epic released Fortnite with security vulnerabilities.

However, Epic’s filing also alleged that Google’s software engineers thought the security warnings were overblown. In one email, the head of Android security wrote that the message “really does seem inappropriately dire.”

Task force was one of many alleged efforts to keep the Play Store on top

It’s also worth noting that Google’s ‘Fortnite Task Force’ isn’t far from the only measure the company took to keep apps and games on the Play Store. Previous details from other court filings — including from this same Epic Games case — show Google engaged in several anti-competitive practices. The company allegedly paid off developers to keep their software on the Play Store, created revenue share agreements with Android phone makers that prevented them from installing their own app stores and forced OnePlus to abandon a deal with Epic to pre-install Fortnite on the company’s phones.

Other court documents accuse Google of knowing the Android sideloading process was bad and trying to buy Epic to make the Fortnite problem disappear. Another report suggested Google tried to keep Netflix using its in-app billing system by offering the streaming company a special deal.

All the while, Google has defended itself by pointing to Android’s openness — specifically, the fact that Android allows users to sideload apps from anywhere. But, as court documents have repeatedly demonstrated, Google actively worked against that openness by trying to deter third-party app stores and sideloading.

Source: Bloomberg

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Epic Games Store offering $10 coupons with email subscriptions

Epic Games Store customers can receive a $10 coupon for the digital storefront by signing up to Epic’s email and alerts program.

This promotion runs from October 15th to November 15th and is open to both new and existing subscribers. Those who are already subscribed will automatically receive the coupon.

If you’re not yet subscribed, you can do so by heading to your account settings and looking under communications preferences. You’ll receive the coupon within 24 hours of doing so.

Naturally, only one coupon can be claimed per EGS account. The coupon can be used on any game priced at $14.99 or higher.

Source: Epic Games

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Epic CEO says company paid Apple $6 million as ordered

Epic Games has paid Apple $6 million USD (roughly $7.6 million CAD) for violating the iPhone maker’s App Store guidelines.

The payment follows last week’s ruling in the Epic v. Apple lawsuit, which was largely a loss for Epic. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed down the ruling on September 10th — it determined that Apple’s App Store was not a monopoly but that the company had engaged in some anti-competitive practices. Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple would need to allow other forms of in-app purchases.

Beyond that, Epic lost on every other count. Moreover, the judge ruled Epic would need to pay Apple 30 percent of the $12.1 million USD it earned between August and October 2020 plus 30 percent of any revenue earned between November 2020 and today.

As for why Epic was on the hook to pay Apple, it all traces back to the beginning of the lawsuit. In August 2020, Epic added its own payment method to Fortnite. That led Apple to boot the game off the App Store — however, those who already had it installed could still play (eventually, an update made the app unusable). During that time, the game still made money, and that’s why Epic was on the hook to pay Apple.

Epic, obviously, isn’t a fan of the ruling. The company has already announced plans to appeal, and CEO Tim Sweeney previously tweeted that Fortnite will return to the App Store only when it can “offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment.” The tweet seems to ignore the fact that it’s up to Apple when (and if) Fortnite can return to the App Store.

Sweeney also tweeted confirmation that Epic paid Apple the $6 million with a somewhat cringey joke: the tweet included a picture of the Apple Pay logo.

Source: @TimSweeneyEpic Via: MacRumors