Wii Unreal Engine 3 in Development

Epic Games' Mark Rein tells us that a version of the engine IS in development for Wii after all.

With development costs soaring, game creators are turning more and more to middleware engines, software that takes care of much of the underlying gameplay mechanics and allows them to focus on game design. One of the most popular in recent years is Unreal Engine 3, a tool that's been showcased in developer Epic's own games, such as Gears Of War.

Unreal Engine 3 is mainly a tool for high-end systems, including the PC and the new consoles, and there are versions of the software tool that run on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. But what about the Wii?

Earlier in the year, Epic's Mark Rein told Kikizo that there were rumblings of a studio - not Epic - bringing Unreal Engine 3 to the Wii. Speaking with us again in this new interview published today, Rein confirmed that an unnamed development team has taken up the challenge.

"I know one of our licensee who's giving it a shot," Rein said. "It's their own port, in the same way Ubisoft brought Unreal Engine 2 to the Wii."

Ubisoft had used Epic's previous tool, Unreal Engine 2, in its Wii launch game Red Steel.

Mark Rein, VP at Epic Games

"There's so many things we can do and are already doing, to improve our engine, on the platforms we're aiming it at, that going back and working on that [for Wii] just doesn't make sense," Rein added.

He said that Unreal Engine 3 is "a better engine today than it was a year ago", when Gears Of War arrived for the Xbox 360.

"The engine is getting optimised and we're improving it all the time."

To see how the engine looks today, look no further than Unreal Tournament 3, Epic's new shooter in stores this week. For more on the game, check out our full interview with Mark Rein.

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Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo