Epic licenses Unreal Engine 3 to the FBINot unreal anymoreBy Lawrence LatifThu Mar 29 2012, 15:02GAMES DEVELOPER Epic Games has announced that it is licensing Unreal Engine 3 to Virtual Heroes, which in turn will license the engine to US government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the military.Epic Games licenses its Unreal Engine to other games developers, however the firm announced it had signed a long-term reseller and support agreement with Virtual Heroes, a division of defence firm Applied Research Associates. Under the agreement Unreal Engine 3 will be licensed out to US government agencies such as the FBI and will be used for research projects to help the US Army.Virtual Heroes will handle the licensing activities and said it will support Unreal Engine 3 on IOS, Android, Adobe Flash, Windows, Mac OS, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation Vita and the Wii U. Given the almost complete operating system coverage Unreal Engine 3 has, there is little surprise that games developers and in this case US law enforcement agencies and the military want to use the game engine.Jerry Heneghan, founder of Virtual Heroes said, "Virtual Heroes is committed to providing world-class support to our licensees to ensure that all UE3 [Unreal Engine 3] solutions achieve the best possible results across multiple platforms. Our technical and creative staff is uniquely qualified to provide a new standard of responsive, personalized service to government customers worldwide."The US military and law enforcement agencies have previously used game engines for training and even as a means of recruiting people. The popular Americas Army game was in essence just a dumbed down battle simulator that the US Army released as a promotion. However in this case it seems Unreal Engine 3 will be used primarily for training rather than as a recruiting attraction. µSource: The Inquirer (http://s.tt/18rzw)
