Epic: we've neglected Unreal series

By Fred Dutton Published 22 July, 2011

Admits sequel would be good for business.

Epic has admitted to neglecting its best-selling Unreal franchise in recent years.

President Mike Capps told IndustryGamers that its decision in recent years to focus on the Gears of War series and new IPs had left its flagship FPS brand in the shade.

"It's been a long time since we shipped an Unreal game, and it's an awfully loved franchise that we hold pretty dear here. We haven't been giving it the attention it deserves because we've been focusing on Gears of War and we're still a relatively small company.

"At some point you wonder why we don't rename the engine the Gears Engine or something," he joked.

Though he stopped short of confirming work on a new entry in the series was underway, he did add that a sequel would probably make Epic's bank manager happy.

"We've been sort of focused on making new properties, which you've seen with Shadow Complex, Bulletstorm and Infinity Blade, but sometimes I think just as a businessman that maybe we should be spending some more time with our existing franchises."

The last outing for the IP was Unreal Tournament III on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in 2007, which won an 8/10 from Eurogamer's Kristan Reed.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • IMD1_Pk #1 10 months ago

    Despite the internet hate for it Unreal Tournament 3 is great. It still gets played heavily by the hardcore veterans. Few games provide the competitive feel of the Unreal series when it comes to 1v1 and 2v2 duels

  • Koozer #2 10 months ago

    M-M-M...

  • -cerberus- #3 10 months ago

    HD remakes or remasters, Epic. It's an easy cash grab, your competitors are doing it and the consumer is willing to pay twice for, essentially, the same game/experience. KA-CHING!
    Edited by -cerberus- at 23/07/11 @ 00:20

  • Triggerhappytel #4 10 months ago

    Loving the Zavvi ad there where I can buy Unreal III on the PS3 for just £48.99. I'll take two please.

  • paketep #5 10 months ago

    No, Epic, you've neglected the fans that put you where you are, which is much worse.

  • DUFFKING #6 10 months ago

    The first Unreal game is still great - it's quite unlike most other shooters. It's got the old school permanent health and large aresenal of cool weapons that you carry round, but there's also a real sense of exploration that's missing from non openworld FPS games. You aren't shooting stuff all the time, encounters are usually small and quick. Shame the sequel was nothing like it whatsoever.

    And yes, I don't get the hate for UT3. It's a lot purer than 2003/2004 was, maybe it's just rose tinted glasses but amongst the UT community 2003 wasn't very well received at all. Partly because of the absolutely awful map design throughout, but a lot of it was due to the feel of the game which just felt off. 2004 fixed map design issues but I never got on with the core gunplay/movement which UTIII did a much better job of. All the weapons feel far more powerful, more like they did in the original.

  • riseer #7 10 months ago

    I bought the Ps3 version which supports MOD's to me that was the reason i bought it.It is a good game just had a weak launch and never recover from it.

  • Nikanoru #8 10 months ago

    Well, I sure hope when they say Unreal, they actually mean Unreal. And not UT (even though I don't dislike it).

    It's got the old school permanent health and large aresenal of cool weapons that you carry round, but there's also a real sense of exploration that's missing from non openworld FPS games. You aren't shooting stuff all the time, encounters are usually small and quick.

    Yes. It frustrates me so much that more people don't get this, this mix of exploration and direction that you never see anymore. This is really the reason modern shooters have become very boring to me.

  • Machetazo #9 10 months ago

    New Unreal/UT is at the top of my wishlist of amazing things for gaming! It's great to see that Epic still has the series in mind.
    They should also consider bringing back the Championship branding, to designate downloadable console versions of the competitive multiplayer, that have been developed from the start to finish, exclusively for those platforms. I think the consoles should be able to be a part of the series as well, give it that level of awareness and availability. :)
    Edited by Machetazo at 23/07/11 @ 01:20

  • Haloboy #10 10 months ago

    I still think we owe a very large debt to Unreal 2. Not only did it bring us a pretty decent if widely unappreciated campaign it also brought us something else. UNREAL 2 XMP. Oh yes, those were the days.

  • dirtysteve #11 10 months ago

    UT4 will happen, it just remains to be seen if it'll be a tech showcase for the engine. I think they underestimate the fans, the gameplay may have remained as an arena shooter, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be updated along with the graphics.

  • L0cky #12 10 months ago

    XMP was excellent. The most balanced and well paced team based FPS multiplayer I ever played.

    I ran a league for Jolt back in the day; but the community was short lived. If it had shipped with Unreal 2; or was released for free (it was standalone but you needed an Unreal 2 key) then it would have fared a lot better. Unfortunately it was released long after Unreal 2 had been forgotten about by most people :(

    And pity Legend Entertainment was closed by "Atari".

  • Nithron #13 10 months ago

    I enjoyed UT3. It brought the series back to its roots, and played a lot like a modern iteration of UT1.

    The campaign mode also had the trademark Epic Games hilariously over serious FMV sequences, a la Gears of War. Are those honestly meant to be serious, or are they deliberately going for camp B-Movie chic, Command and Conquer style? Anyone know either way?

  • RodHull #14 10 months ago

    Yes, You should never neglect your established game IP. Wouldn't you agree, Mr Microsoft-Suit-At-Rare?

  • superjag86 #15 10 months ago

    It would be interesting if they made a new Unreal game but I really want Unreal Tournament 4!

  • Ahskay #16 10 months ago

    +1 for Locky for giving XMP credits!

    I absolutely adored that one, one of the best multiplayer games i ever played in my life! Too bad it had a steep learning curve but when it worked it was absolutely magic! Played it for over ayear, stayed in till the last drop of players but had to move on. A shame really, this one deserved better.

  • Turbotim3 #17 10 months ago

    yes they should be focusing on an unreal game just like ubisoft should be focused on a rainbow six game. i never understood why they created bulletstorm, its just a weak game

  • smelly #18 10 months ago

    EXACTLY what the games industry is lacking at the moment - is more fps games!

    I've also felt that nintendo could do with some more mini-game collections on their machines.....

  • Ahskay #19 10 months ago

    After the comment from smelly i can only add

    Bazinga.

  • Demiath #20 10 months ago

    The mainline Unreal series was never more than a showcase for Epic's graphics engines anyway (can't comment on UT since I'm not a multiplayer gamer). I'm no big fan of Gears of War but at least that game had some small innovations going for it (cover etc.), which for some reason ended up changing the whole third-person action game genre. Unreal was just a standard shooter of the time which just happened to have very good-looking environments.

  • Alestes #21 10 months ago

    I wish they released Shadow Complex on more platforms. If not the PS3, at least for the PC.

  • Murton #22 10 months ago

    ^ Kill Switch, a PS2 game got there quite some years before Gears when it comes to cover shooters, was pretty good too.

    It's not so much that Unreal has been neglected and more that the obsession with Gears has directly affected. UT3 was overly grey and brown much like Gears and hasn't received the sort of post release support of previous Unreal games, though the Titan Pack does bring some great new stuff to the table.

    I personally am ready for a new UT, but after so long I fear an arena shooter may not longer be relevant and gamers are going to want something more. For all it's flaws Brink is a great multiplayer shooter and many of us have been spoiled by Battlefield's huge open maps and vehicular warfare options. EPIC on the other hand have retreated into the safe ground of their close quarters cover shooter and I'm not overly confident that after so long away from Unreal that a new title will live up to the name.

  • StooMonster #23 10 months ago

    More love for XMP here too.

    I used to play way too much Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 but not so much UT3 as many of my friends had moved onto other things. :( Last time I fired up UT3 was to play with some other friends in a LAN game, they'd heard it was good but not really played it, but it was like shooting fish in a barrel for me, UT2004 is in my muscle memory. I might fire it up later and explore the Titan Pack a bit more, don't think I've even looked at it.

    The trouble with a new version of Unreal is that it will be console orientated and probably suffer for it. I think Bulletstorm was Epic's attempt to redo Unreal, but it's obviously failed.

  • yoomazir #24 10 months ago

    As long as they make non "GeoW" models for the next Unreal game, I'm in, kinda tired of the steroided american footbal player look...

  • [STARS]TyranT #25 10 months ago

    Look Epic, we all know Gears is a prequel to the Unreal series, and the Locust are a sort of Proto-Skaarj....

    And we know, at the end of Gears 3 will feature Marcus being taken back into Prison, loaded onto the prison ship "The Vortex Riker" and which will crash land on a planet called NaPali.....

    Well, I can dream....

    And yes, XMP was absolutely amazing, being part of that Beta was one of my favourite gaming experiences. GET IN THE VEHICLE!!!
    Edited by [STARS]TyranT at 23/07/11 @ 11:17

  • Gambit1977 #26 10 months ago

    I just don't feel the love for Unreal. We've moved on...if they were to release one, I really think it should be a £12.99 download. And extremely customisable...basically like a better version of Brink

  • metalangel #27 10 months ago

    Unreal Tournament 3 is a huge game, there's just so many different things to do. Deathmatch, CTF, objective and control-point based maps with a variety of vehicles and huge environments.

    It's rare we play it, but when we do we always have a blast. Unfortunately, UT3 has one flaw, and that is that it's not Call of Fucking Duty.

  • Triggerhappytel #28 10 months ago

    Would love a proper current-gen remake of the original Unreal - I definitely agree with comments that it had a sense of proper journey and exploration, and I think Halo very successfully pinched its sense of scale and level design.

    Would also +1 asking for Shadow Complex on other platforms.

  • noycemwa #29 10 months ago

    Unreal tournament 3 is still my most played game online, I love it but wish they would support it better. The in game news page is so out of date it's terrible.

    The game still looks better than most new releases.

  • curtlikesmeat #30 10 months ago

    Haven't played UT since the very first one and I'm not that interested. Like other people have said I see Unreal as a separate thing (even though they're set in the same universe??) and would prefer more of that.

  • super_monty #31 10 months ago

    Got it on ps3 at launch, like many others we deserted it because of lag, poor voice, and the mods split the community leaving the lobbies were a waste land. Shame such potential but I won't be sung twice and be buying a sequel.

  • altitude2k #32 10 months ago

    Q3 > UT

    also...

    UT != Unreal

  • Phredreeke #33 10 months ago

    Yeah. I'd like a nice new Unreal game as opposed to all these Call of Doody games.

  • sweatyBallacks #34 10 months ago

    The very first Unreal was a classic and Unreal Tournie 2004 for me was a seminal moment in FPS history. Amazing the amount of hours I spend on UT 2004 with its classic game modes. So many different modes as well and amazing, well designed maps with terrific music. Unreal has always had the best scifi game music.

  • mr2ange #35 10 months ago

    I agree with some many of the posts here,

    Unreal 1 was absolutely amazing for its time. One of the best FPS games to ever be released.

    It had that something special that made it stand out. Since then Epic, there hasn't been a whole lot from you that I would buy.

    Go back and have a look at the original game and find out what got lost over the time.

  • bf #36 10 months ago

    Should be an easy fix, keep GoW on consoles and UT on the PC and all would be well.

  • edhe #37 10 months ago

    Do something proper with dodging on the control pads, [ie LB+direction] instead of directionx2 and it might go down better.

  • bcxixa10 #38 10 months ago

    HELLL YEAHH.... UT3 was not freaking awesome but is was great. Please do more Unreal Games. Love the first ones. UT 2004 was for me the best one....

  • Ceelion #39 10 months ago

    I still hold UT2K4 as one of my favourite games of all time. As fun as UT3 was (outside of the god awful 'plot'), it wasn't the same thanks to the nostalgia goggles I permanently wore. I'd welcome a new game in the series though, in the 'first day purchase regardless' kind of welcome.

  • Lord_Gremlin #40 10 months ago

    "we've been sucking on Microsoft's dick"
    Wait, this is NOT his words? Hypocrite. And let's be honest, UT3 was basically UT2004 lite, with less content and less adrenaline in gameplay. But - don't get me wrong - UT3 is a good game and fun to play. It's just... UT2004 was not just good, but great.

  • PixelPirate #41 10 months ago

    translation: we had the fps genre sewn up, then wandered off to make gears while COD/BF made uber monies... oops.

  • geox30 #42 10 months ago

    What is Epic doing in the PC section of the site?

  • Lord_Gremlin #43 10 months ago

    @geox30: They were PC devs before Cliffy B. sold his ass to Microsoft.

  • JadedSoul #44 10 months ago

    Post deleted at 08:10:55 26-04-2012

  • Ternon #45 10 months ago

    I never liked Unreal Tournament, it was arcadey primitive garbage, lately I want every game, especially FPS to be like Fallout New Vegas, best game ever created.

  • spongebob #46 10 months ago

    I still think the very first Unreal is one of the best fps games ever. And when it came out there was nothing out there that looked as good.

  • Subdominator #47 10 months ago

    All the UT talk is rather pointless because it's obvious he talks about Unreal 3 and not a new Tournament game. Cause 4 years is not a long time in the industry. Then again Gears is about four times larger than anything Epic has previously shipped. So since he is talking about making money, the logical thing to do is to create Gears 4 next (obviously with new characters and a new enemy). UT 3 sales were ridiculously low. Brink just showed that you cannot make money with such a game anymore. What you have to do is create an interesting singleplayer game and add an interesting multiplayer to it, if you want to be successful. See Call of Duty. Epic knew before UT 3 that their potential customers weren't that many. 50 % of the CD keys for UT 2004 have not once been online. With sales of about 2 million of that game that leaves only 1 million to be interested in an Unreal multiplayer online game. The thing is: UT was always a game for PCs. The fast paced action simply doesn't work on consoles and that's where the money is made today. If games like CoD or Battlefield wouldn't come with an ever present autoaim people would literally cry because they don't hit anything. And those games are rather slow. Give them something like Painkiller or Serious Sam and it's madness. UT is dead for good, it's never coming back.

  • Murton #48 10 months ago

    @subdominator

    Some good points there but I disagree that console gamers are in any way less skilled than PC gamers, that's just rubbish I'm afraid. There's no reason why a console gamer couldn't cope with Serious Sam, especially given that many console gamers are old PC gamers anyway.

    Auto aim is an issue, I like to switch off with games that let me as it spoils my enjoyment, I prefer to run the risk of missing once in a while and claw back a little of the challenge that gaming used to provide until this generation. Should note that as a general rule I don't do FPS online so I'm not sure how bad the auto-aim is there, the brief stints I have played though the aim assist did seem toned down slightly compared to the SP campaign.

  • ISmoke #49 10 months ago

    Do a HD remake the original UT and I'll pay whatever you ask. No game has been able to capture me in like that game.

    Deck 16, Facing Worlds, Morpheus, Hall of the Giants, Instagib, CTF, Assault on that train level, Flak Cannon, dual enforcers and the beautiful sound of 'Headshot' followed promptly by 'Next!'

    Get to it, Epic. Give me a remastered version and it'll be GOTY

  • vEK #50 10 months ago

    'Prisoner 849... escaping!'
    :')

  • SpaceMonkey77 #51 10 months ago

    Yeah, back when FPS games were all about the fragfesting, I wasn't into them at all, apart from PC LAN games. Its was too boring, shallow and contrived for me, apart from 'Oh, I just got the sweetest kill', and 'Sweet graphics, man', there was nothing/little else to brag about, IMO. How glad I was the day I played Half Life, to see where FPS games could really go. Unreal would need a mass overhaul to really make bank in todays industry, which would have to include a decent story mode, multiplayer, possible co-op and actual characters with a Gears/Bulletstorm substance, not just flashy looking skins.

    I say better to go with fresh IP, Epic. The competition and expectation in the FPS/TPS genre is too great these days, that you really have to offer something unique and yet equally awesome. Just remember to add decent co-op and multiplayer, if you want higher sales. Besides, we've had a few years for Gears, now. Give us a fresh tale, with new characters, dialogue and story, that can get up there with Bioshock and Mass Effect.

    Infinity Blade 2 would be nice.

  • flaming.carrot #52 10 months ago

    Still waiting for the Mac version of UT3. Guess that dream died long ago, weird since they had it ported over - just never released.

  • Peregrin #53 10 months ago

    The original Unreal game was simply beautiful and evocative. Unreal 2 was good in terms of gameplay but nothing in comparison to the original when it came to graphics and story. Unreal Tournament was incredible fun (something Quake III missed out on somehow); the regular sequels provided well for the existing community, but nothing groundbreaking.
    Taking all this into consideration, personally I think they did the right thing by focusing on new properties rather than derivative sequels. Shadow Complex in particular was a stroke of genius.