Epic not working on a new Unreal game
Bulletstorm lessons will aid PCF's next.
Gears of War developer Epic may be making five new games right now, but a new Unreal Tournament isn't one of them.
"Unreal and Unreal Tournament continue to have a huge influence on the studio here, even though we're not currently working on an Unreal IP project," boss Mike Capps told Forbes.
Capps' comments are sure to disappoint Unreal fans buoyed by the Epic president's July admission that the developer had neglected the franchise in recent years.
"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," Capps told IndustryGamers two months ago.
"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.
"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."
Capps' latest comments pour cold water on that suggestion. Still, Unreal has helped inform Epic's recent games, including the Gears of War franchise.
"Epic's core game making philosophy of 'when everyone says it's done, keep polishing!' came from our experiences with Unreal Tournament," Capps said. "That's the beginning of our quality-focused studio DNA."
Capps revealed at GDC Europe last month that Epic was developing five games. While these remain unannounced, one appears to be the next game from Bulletstrom developer People Can Fly.
Discussing Bulletstorm, Capps said: "We learned that People Can Fly can make a really fun project, and we learned how to work together well - and that's going to show in what they're doing next."
OTT shooter Bulletstorm failed to turn a profit for Epic, despite glowing reviews.
"The studio has shipped AAA content," Capps said in July. "The next thing we do with People Can Fly will be great."