Epic Games has announced that it has acquired the technology and business of RAD Game Tools. RAD Game Tools is a video game software development company whose products and technology appear in more than 25,000 games and some of the biggest companies around the world use them. As part of the acquisition, Epic and RAD plan to integrate RAD’s powerful technology into Unreal Engine to benefit both developers and gamers.
Video games have come a long way and modern video game development is no easy task. Developing visuals that look both amazing and are photorealistic, the developers are switching to more advanced technologies that not only yield better results but are also much easier to manage on a larger scale. Epic’s Unreal Engine is already a clear example of one such advanced platform.
Combine that with RAD Game Tools, and you will have an extremely powerful video game development environment which is the main purpose of this acquisition by Epic Games. The key areas where both companies will benefit each other include rendering, animation, insights, and audio teams, integrating key tech and improvements across Unreal Engine and beyond. The official press release also states that this will allow more developers access to even a greater set of tools within a familiar environment which will ultimately result in better video games.
Kim Libreri, CTO of Epic Games said:
We know first-hand how impressive RAD’s compression technology is, having used it to improve the load time and quality of our most popular games – including Fortnite. The RAD team includes some of the world’s leading compression, video, and game dev tooling experts, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Epic family.
Jeff Roberts, Founder, and CEO of RAD Game Tools also commented:
Our work with Epic goes back decades, and joining forces is a natural next step given our alignment on products, mission, and culture. We both believe that solid technologies enable developers to build beautiful, performant, and reliable experiences. We’re excited and humbled to join the amazing Epic team.
The acquisition will not affect RAD in any way and the company will continue to support the video game industry, film and television partners with their sales and business development team maintaining and selling licenses for their products including those who do not use Unreal Engine. This is one of the biggest concerns regarding this particular acquisition however the official press release clearly states that no one will be affected by this acquisition in any way.
What are your thoughts on the acquisition of RAD Game Tools by Epic Games? Let us know in the comments section below.
