Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney recently described a long-term plan for Unreal Games and Fortnite that could finally create the kind of game-agnostic digital assets marketplace Web3 gamers have been dreaming of since the advent of the metaverse.
In a recent interview with The Verge, Sweeney discussed the company’s upcoming Unreal Engine 6.
Unreal is among the most popular game engines in the world. It’s used by developers around the world to make titles such as Epic’s own Fortnite as well as the Mass Effect series and dozens of other AAA gaming franchises and titles.
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine 5 was released in 2022. In the gaming industry, this means it’s relatively new and most gamers have only seen a handful of titles showcasing its capabilities. On Oct. 6, for example, Halo developer 343 Industries announced it had multiple Unreal Engine 5 games in development.
The typical lifespan of a gaming engine ranges from around seven to ten years. Thus, it’s unlikely we’ll see Unreal Engine 6 before 2030.
But, according to the company’s CEO, it appears that Epic already has ambitious goals for its flagship software. Sweeny also appears to believe there’s a paradigm shift coming with the next generation of multiplayer gaming development.
“The whole thesis here is that players are gravitating towards games which they can play together with all their friends,” said Sweeney, in the interview, adding that “players are spending more on digital items in games that they trust they’re going to play for a long time.”
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It’s likely Sweeney was referencing his own company’s successful game, Fortnite. But titles such as Grand Theft Auto Online have also demonstrated the point that, when it comes to AAA games that operate on in-game purchases for revenue, a handful have managed to crack the formula for turning digital assets into company profits.
Per Sweeney, however, the ecosystem needs to expand beyond walled gardens and into an…
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