It looks like Square will be making use of Epic’s Unreal Engine for a few upcoming projects that have yet to be announced. This licensing deal is a bit out of the ordinary for the Japanese developer, as Square is notorious for using engines created in house.
Territory manager for Epic Games Japan Taka Kawasaki shared his excitement over the new deal, saying:
It is a pleasure to provide Square Enix with an exceptional game engine that will help them bring thrilling new experiences to legions of fans all over the world.
Many Western games have achieved great success with the Unreal Engine, and this milestone reflects the Japanese development community’s trust in our technical prowess. We can’t wait to see how Square Enix fuses the power of Unreal Engine 3 with its beautiful characters, enthralling storylines and fantastic gameplay.
Could this be a sign that the once tradition-heavy Japanese developer is warming up to Western-style games? They did make use of the engine back when they developed The Last Remnant. We’ll just have to wait and see.
