MMO developer signs Unreal Engine 3

MMO developer 38 Studios has licensed Epic Studios' Unreal Engine 3 for its first game.

38 Studios is an unusual company. It was formed by Major League Baseball player Curt Schilling, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and named after his jersey number. Schilling is an enormous Everquest and Everquest II fan, which led him to decide to invest some of his baseball earnings in setting up a studio to develop a new MMO.

So far, 38 Studios has signed comics artist Todd McFarlane and fantasy and sci-fi author R. A. Salvatore to lead the creative vision for the new IP, which is destined for "multiple media forms, including a massively multiplayer online game that is currently scheduled for release in late 2010", according to the press release. That means a comic and some action figures, we're guessing. The game's setting will be "fantastical".

"Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is best-of-breed, empowering developers with superior content creation tools, extensive middleware integration, and exceptional visual quality and rendering," said 38 Studios' CEO and President Brett Close. Epic's vice president Jay Wilbur returned the compliment: "38 Studios is comprised of some of the industry's top technological and creative minds, and we look forward to seeing what they do with our engine," he said.