All articles tagged with #unreal engine
Windows Central's Jez Corden previews two missions from Gears of War: E-Day, praising its dense, lived‑in Kalona environments, dynamic cover and a darker, more desperate tone that emphasizes civilians amid the Locust threat; if the full campaign sustains this quality, E-Day could be remembered as the series’ best story and mark a renaissance for The Coalition, releasing October 6, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto praises Halo: Campaign Evolved for its movement, visuals, and lighting upgrades, while noting some gripes like cringe new cinematics and a hint system he feels panders to players with 0% attention span. He commends the Unreal Engine port and improved weapon feel, and says online backlash isn’t productive. Campaign Evolved is a PS-exclusive campaign remaster with three new prequel missions; Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes are planned, with rumors of a Fortnite-like new Halo game.
In a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 postmortem in Yokohama, Sandfall Interactive explains why they purposefully keep their team small (about 26) to preserve a focused creative vision for Expedition 33, a 2025 Game of the Year‑winning JRPG-inspired title. They credit Unreal Engine 5 and Blueprints for delivering a big‑game look with a lean crew, discuss the JRPG and anime influences (Final Fantasy, Lost Odyssey, Attack on Titan, Bleach), and note that a Switch 2 port is being considered but not confirmed. The studio prioritizes staying indie with a warm Montpellier office culture (the “Manor”) and aims to pursue another project fueled by passion rather than expansion. Expedition 33 is available on PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Cyan Worlds has publicly shared a four‑month prototype for a Myst sequel called Project Anglerfish, built for publisher eyes in Unreal Engine. The teaser trailer showcases Myst’s signature vistas, but the project was not continued, which would have marked the first new Myst entry since 2005’s Myst V. The studio has faced layoffs following the 2024 Riven remake, though the teaser hints at more Myst experiences to come.
Halo Studios has reportedly canceled Project Ekur, a large-scale Halo multiplayer concept prototyped by Certain Affinity featuring playable Spartans and Elites with full customization and big-team battles. The cancellation, tied to broader Xbox cost-cutting and reported development problems, leaves the fate of Halo’s competitive multiplayer uncertain, with no official statement issued.
Microsoft's Xbox layoffs reportedly gut id Software's id Tech team, leaving only one engineer and raising fears the Doom engine could fade as Unreal Engine tightens its industry grip.
A fan-made remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, developed in Unreal Engine by CryZENx since 2016, has been scrapped to avoid potential Nintendo legal action, following Nintendo’s announcement of an official Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2 in 2026. CryZENx said they’re retiring the project but may reuse assets in future Zelda/Nintendo projects, with the fan remake previously drawing millions of views.
CryZENx has ended a decade-long PC recreation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, saying on Patreon it’s safer to pause the project after Nintendo’s Switch 2 remake reveal and due to fears of “Nintendo ninjas.” The piece notes Nintendo’s history of IP enforcement, including past actions against Pocketpair and Genki, and that CryZENx may pivot to other Nintendo-inspired ideas.
Duncan Jones' indie, R-rated animated Rogue Trooper premiered at Annecy, using Unreal Engine and performance-capture to deliver a hyper-kinetic, comic-book–flavored sci‑fi war epic on a tight budget.
Halo: Campaign Evolved’s updated Halo ring has sparked online backlash, as fans argue the added depth and detail make the ring feel smaller and less mysterious than the original. While some nostalgia is expressed, many critics say the design choices undermine the sense of scale and depth, even though the ring’s exterior is rarely visible in-game. The remake isn’t deemed a deal-breaker, but there’s clear disappointment about this direction for Halo rings.
Legendary Unreal level designer Sjoerd de Jong leaves Epic Games after 12 years as Unreal Engine 6 is unveiled with heavy AI integration (Claude and Gemini) and UEFN. The move comes amid industry anxiety about AI overtaking game development, though Epic says humans will still guide the process. De Jong’s departure, paired with UE6’s direction beyond UE5.8’s AI-driven world generation, underscores the industry-wide shift toward AI-assisted workflows while he remains optimistic about adapting to the new landscape.
CryZENx creator Giuseppe Macula has officially halted his decade-long fan remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time after Nintendo revealed its own high-budget Switch 2 remake; he says he doesn’t want to step on Nintendo’s release and plans to pivot to other projects, asking fans what to tackle next.
Xbox is rolling out Unreal Engine 5.8 plugins to cut the friction of PC game development for Xbox, allowing developers to stay on Win64, keep existing third‑party plug‑ins, and ship more easily across PC storefronts via tools like GDK Store, GDK Runtime, Online Subsystem GDK, and Online Subsystem Selector as part of a broader Project Helix initiative.
Epic’s Unreal Engine 5.8 adds Lumen Lite, a low-GPU-cost mode for dynamic global illumination that preserves much of the visuals while enabling around 60fps on Switch 2 handheld (and on PC). The mode uses irradiance fields with probe occlusion and is touted as roughly twice as fast as Lumen High Quality. UE5.8 is described as the last major UE5 update as Epic shifts focus to Unreal Engine 6, with ongoing optimization work for Switch 2.
Poncle says it’s reviewing its Fortnite collaboration after Epic’s State of Unreal showcased AI-assisted asset creation, sparking concerns about generative AI’s impact on creativity, copyright, and jobs. The move reflects broader industry debates as Epic touts AI tools and executives suggest AI will be involved in most future game production.