Epic Games Opens Seattle Studio to Push Unreal Engine 4

By Kevin Parrish
published

Epic Games said on Thursday that it has launched a new studio in Seattle primarily focused on accelerating the engineering efforts for its Unreal Engine 4 technology. That probably means lots of up-all-nighters and loads of coffee piped in through an IV, and America's coffee capital -- Seattle, Washington -- naturally seems to be the best place to accomplish that.

Starting today, the company is recruiting developers to work on its latest "technological projects" over on the west coast. That said, job listings for Epic’s Seattle office can be found at http://www.epicgames.com/careers/seattle. Honestly, it sounds like Epic wants to be near its best friend – Microsoft – to keep close developmental ties with the upcoming Xbox Infinity (720) console.

"The proximity to key partners, the density of world-class talent and all the factors that make Seattle an attractive place to live convinced us that it is the perfect locale for Epic’s West Coast operation," said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. "We are looking to hire even more of the best engineers around to contribute to Unreal Engine 4, which we believe is set to change the way we all make games."

Epic said it is searching for exceptional programmers and support staff to collaborate with its engineering group. Epic is especially looking to hire senior-level talent specializing in online game services and the infrastructure to support them. Currently Epic is looking to fill the following spots at its Seattle studio:

* Animation Systems Programmer
* Audio Tools Programmer
* Engine Programmer
* Java/Online Server Programmer
* Lead Online Programmer
* Rendering Programmer
* Tools Programmer

"We will soon announce the official corporate identity and key leadership for Epic’s new Seattle studio," Epic said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, gamers are still drooling over the spectacular Unreal Engine 4 demon-faced demo that made its first appearance at E3 2012 back in June. Fortnite is the first game to use the new engine which can be seen here.

Kevin Parrish
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • SEATTLE #1 SEATTLE #1
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    When new video cards are launched, the new (legitimate) question should be, "But can it run Crysis Unreal Engine 4?
    Reply
  • master_chen
    Awwwyeaaaaahhh
    Reply
  • merikafyeah
    If you look past the hype, you realize that Unreal Engine is just catching up to what CryEngine could do three years ago:
    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/353832/cryengine-is-three-years-ahead-of-unreal-engine-4-crytek/
    Reply
  • semeku
    merikafyeahIf you look past the hype, you realize that Unreal Engine is just catching up to what CryEngine could do three years ago:http://www.computerandvideogames.c -4-crytek/Stop being so obvious troll. Either give us a proper breakdown of the features vs Unreal Engine instead of talk from Crytek. Where is Crytek's Samaritan demo? Is it even close? Everyone can talk the talk, but what about the proof? Really. Stop barking unless you got something to show up for it.
    Reply
  • owned
    Reply
  • lpedraja2002
    Er...

    @ semeku
    "We already had massive particle systems, we already had GPU rendering, all these things. Deferred shading. We had tessellation already since we shipped Crysis 2. We already had DX11. We didn't just talk it up as tech demos, we have games that are shipped and are doing it," said Yerli.

    I'm not a fanboy or anything but I believe Yerli. I don't know about you guys but if you can't acknowledge that Crysis after all this time is still on the very top of best looking games to date then there is something wrong with you and the modders have made the game look even more insane. Just search through some of those realistic Crysis mods and you'll see.

    Still, this is about Unreal Engine 4 and I'm very excited to see its first games.
    Reply
  • merikafyeah
    @semeku

    Demos? Please. CryEngine's in-game graphics ie "realtime rendering" looks just as good as Unreal's pre-rendered demos. But instead of telling you what it could do, let me show you:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgw9DlIK8DY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1pjoqSuslE
    Reply
  • i know this is hard for many to understand, but when Eric from unreal technologies sets out to create a new level in gaming engines he really does it, he has always delivered. think about it he has never disappointed, he is one of the few great game programmers out there.

    and we will need Maxwell cards to properly utilize the engine, i dunno if amd has something ready for then but i doubt.

    proof cant really be seen over footage over your screen at home, best proof is to watch it directly in action with your own eyes. but from the stuff i have been following nearly everything has new formulas. shadows, lighting, glare, physics etc...

    Dont be a crysis fan boy based on graphics you've only seen from one engine. Epic games has delivered every time they bring out a engine, and i doubt they will want to fall behind now. if you look at the amount of games that use the unreal engine you will be shocked if you have never seen it before.

    if i told you people gabe said this will be a revolution in gaming then no one will doubt that it will be beter. its sad that people's choices are influenced by pure fanboism.

    i dont KNOW it is gonna be beter, but from past experiences Epic has always delivered. so i give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it will be better. especially considering consoles cant run it....

    you cant really compare features when it comes to game engines, you have to look at the formula/code of the feature and compare that.
    Reply
  • James296
    if I remember right, it wasn't the graphical upgrades that epic was talking about but more towards how devs worked with (or around) UE4 when compared with UE3 (easier to work with, basically)
    Reply