Silicon Knights Ordered to Destroy Unsold Unreal Engine 3 Games

Silicon Knights has been ordered to “recall and destroy” all unsold copies of its games built on Unreal Engine 3. According to a recent ruling by the North Carolina District Court, Silicon Knights shall “cease producing or distributing” and “recall and destroy” all unsold copies of Too Human, The Box/Ritualyst, The Sandman, X-Men: Destiny and Siren in the Maelstrom at its own expense.

A judge also ruled that Silicon Knights must now pay Epic an additional $278,000 in court costs, $2.09 million in attorney fees and $2.3 million in pre-judgment interest. Joined with the previous ruling that Silicon Knights owes Epic $4.45 million, Epic is now owed approximately $9 million.

"Epic Games appreciates the court's careful consideration of the motions and is gratified by the order," an Epic spokesperson told IGN.

The ruling comes more than five years after Silicon Knights sued Epic, alleging that Unreal Engine did not work as it was supposed to. Epic later counter-sued and the case went to trial earlier this year. While Epic eventually won, a judge ruled that even if Silicon Knights had proved victorious, they could only earn $1.

Of the five titles listed in the ruling, Too Human was released in 2008 and X-Men Destiny came out last year. The Box/Ritualyst refers to a canceled psychological thriller project, while Siren in the Maelstrom is the name of a project leaked back in 2009 and The Sandman is presumably an unreleased title.

We’ve reached out to Silicon Knights about the ruling and will update with any comment we receive.

Thanks to the NeoGAF forums for the heads up.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Square Enix Licenses Unreal Engine 4

Square Enix has signed a new deal with Epic Games for use of the Unreal Engine. As Epic announced this morning, Square Enix has licensed Unreal Engine 3 and 4 for a long-term deal that will span multiple titles and “provides Square Enix developers with full access to Unreal Engine 3 and Unreal Engine 4 technology across its studios.” The deal was signed with Epic Games Japan, who will provide local support to Square Enix and “will supplement Square Enix's proprietary software and ensure the studio is armed with the most powerful game development tools and technologies available across all major platforms.”

“Epic has a strong relationship with Square Enix, and it’s an honor to provide their creative and technical talent with the best game technology available for licensing,” said Epic Japan territory manager Taka Kawasaki. “We look forward to supporting their developers with world-class tools for years to come.”

Square Enix first licensed Unreal Engine 3 back in 2007 and renewed its agreement late last year. Previous Square-published titles using the engine include The Last Remnant in 2008 and Demon’s Score on iOS earlier this year. Square Enix showed off its own Luminous engine at E3 though it hasn’t announced which engine will be its primary focus for next-gen titles.

Unreal Engine 4 was first shown off at E3, and development was recently expanded when Epic opened a new Unreal Engine 4 studio and hired Laura Fryer as its general manager. The first Unreal Engine 4 title will be Fortnite, which is set to hit PC in 2013.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Cliff Bleszinski Leaves Epic Games

Cliff Bleszinski, design director known for his creative work on the Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, has departed Epic Games.

Developing...

Source : ign[dot]com