Epic Games

Game developer. Famous for it's Unreal Engine. Currently working on Gears of War for the Xbox 360. Formerly known as Epic MegaGames, its most famous products include Unreal Tournament, and the Jazz Jackrabbit games. Other games include Arcade Shoot 'em up, like Tyrian.

History
Epic Games was initially founded under the name of 'Potomac Computer Systems' in 1991 by Tim Sweeney in Rockville, Maryland, releasing its flagship product, ZZT, the same year. During the latter portion of ZZT's life span, the company became known as Epic MegaGames and subsequently released numerous popular shareware games, including Epic Pinball, Brix, Jill of the Jungle, Kiloblaster, Jazz Jackrabbit, andOne Must Fall: 2097. During this time, Epic also published and sold games developed by other developers such as those by Safari Software and also XLand's Robbo, Heartlight, and Electro Man; and Renaissance's Zone 66. In 1997 Safari Software was acquired in whole by Epic and some of their titles as well as other pre-1998 games are sold under the Epic Classics brand. Epic also released a hit platformer game in 1993 titled Xargon, created by Allen Pilgrim.

Epic Games developed a shareware game called "Fire Fight". It was later released commercially by Electronic Arts.

In 1998, Epic MegaGames released Unreal, a 3D first-person shooter, which expanded into a series of Unreal games. The company also began to license the core technology, the Unreal Engine, to other game developers. In 1999, the company changed its name to Epic Games and moved its offices, including its Rockville headquarters, to Cary, North Carolina. In 2006, Epic released the Xbox 360 and PC bestsellerGears of War and completed work on Unreal Tournament 3 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. They acquired a majority shareholding in Polish developer People Can Fly.

On May 20, 2008, Epic Games acquired Chair Entertainment, and in summer 2009, Epic released the Chair developed Shadow Complex on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 points, or US$ 15. On November 7, 2008, Epic Games released Gears of War 2, the sequel to their bestselling game Gears of War, which con



tinues the story of humanity's struggle against the Locust Horde.

A Chinese division, Epic Games China, was opened in Shanghai. It is through this division that Epic owns Titan Studios. Another studio, Epic Games Korea, operates in Seoul, South Korea. Epic Games Japan, which is based in Tokyo, is used for game engine licensing and support.

Epic is working on Gears of War 3, which is expected to be released on September 20, 2011,. Epic also worked on an iOS game Infinity Blade which was released on December 9, 2010. It's possible Epic could be making a new Jazz Jackrabbit game for iOS devices since they have shown a tech demo with the Unreal Engine 3.

Awards
Due to the success of Gears of War, the studio was awarded


 * IGN's "Best Developer for Xbox 360"
 * Official Xbox Magazine's "Best Developer of the Year"
 * Spike TV's&#91;10&#93;
 * "Best Studio of the Year"
 * "Best Shooter"
 * "Best Graphic"
 * "Best Multi-player Game"