Epic Games Acquires Quixel for More Realistic Graphics in Games

Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite and creators of the Unreal Engine, announced it has acquired startup company Quixel to make more realistic games.With a massive library of high-quality 2D and 3D scans and a variety of tools, this new Quixel and Epic Games partnership will bring developers from all backgrounds the ability to create photo-realistic content.

"By coming together with Quixel to make Megascans free for all use in Unreal Engine, this level of artistry is now available to everyone from triple-A studios to indies," Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games said.

First revealed at the Games Developer Conference earlier this year, Quixel and Epic Games showed a video titled "Rebirth." The cinematic served as a preview of what the two could achieve if they were to come together using Epic's Unreal game engine.

The video included stunning photo-realistic environments placed in a futuristic setting, all created using scans taken from a month-long stint in Iceland.

This could possibly be a big change for the Fortnite developer – known for its signature cartoon art style. Games such as Dauntless, Paragon, and Unreal Tournament are just a few titles that Epic Games is behind.

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As for the Unreal Engine, many of today's most popular games have been made using this development tool. A few examples include the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Starting today, Quixel's library of scans will be available for free to all developers that use Unreal engine.

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