According to a report on the official Epic Games website, Epic Games acquired the technology and business from RAD Game Tools. RAD Game Tools is a video game software development company. According to the report, the “products and technology appear in nearly 25,000 games and are used by the world’s leading gaming companies, including Epic.”
Epic Games owns both the Epic Games Store and the Unreal Engine, a powerful and popular game development tool. The statement goes on to say: “Epic and RAD plan to integrate RAD’s powerful technology into Unreal Engine to benefit the developer community as well as gamers.”
Epic Games has previously used RAD’s technology, specifically compression technology. This enabled the developer to control the loading time of Fortnite, which is currently one of the most popular games in the world. The report further explains that as games become ‘photo-realistic and powerful’, developers need the best compression software that can manage increased data requirements without compromising on quality. ‘
In short, the plan is for RAD’s team and technology to work with Unreal Engine’s rendering, animation, insight and sound teams to improve the systems and infrastructure used by game developers. While Epic now owns RAD, RAD will continue its existing work with the gaming industry, television and film partners, including those who do not use Unreal Engine in their work.
This is not the only big step Epic Games has made recently. FortniteThe developer and publisher recently bought a mall with nearly a million square feet of space to serve as the company’s headquarters.