Epic Games Unveils Plans for Unreal Engine 6 and a Unified Metaverse

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has shared ambitious plans to revolutionize the gaming industry with the development of Unreal Engine 6, a key component in the company's vision for a comprehensive metaverse. This next-generation engine aims to integrate seamlessly with major games and platforms, creating a more interconnected gaming universe.

Epic's Vision for an Interoperable Metaverse and Economy

In a detailed interview with The Verge, Sweeney outlined the blueprint for an interoperable metaverse that will leverage the assets and marketplaces of popular games powered by Unreal Engine, including Fortnite and Roblox. This vision extends beyond mere connectivity, aiming to foster a shared economy where digital assets can be used across different platforms.

Sweeney emphasized Epic's financial readiness to execute these plans through the 2020s. "We have a very robust amount of funding relative to pretty much any company in the industry and are making forward investments really judiciously that we could throttle up or down as our fortunes change," he said. "We feel we’re in a perfect position to execute for the rest of this decade and achieve all of our plans at our size."

The development of Unreal Engine 6 will merge the capabilities of Epic's high-end game engine with the user-friendly features of the Unreal Editor for Fortnite. "The real power will come when we bring these two worlds together so we have the entire power of our high-end game engine merged with the ease of use that we put together in [Unreal Editor for Fortnite]," Sweeney explained. "That’s going to take several years. And when that process is complete, that will be Unreal Engine 6."

Unreal Engine 6 is poised to empower developers, from AAA studios to indie creators, to build applications that can be deployed as standalone games across any platform. This flexibility is crucial for the creation of an interoperable metaverse. Sweeney highlighted the collaboration with Disney as a prime example, stating, "We announced that we’re working with Disney to build a Disney ecosystem that’s theirs, but it fully interoperates with the Fortnite ecosystem. And what we’re talking about with Unreal Engine 6 is the technology base that’s going to make that possible for everybody. Triple-A game developers to indie game developers to Fortnite creators achieving that same sort of thing."

While discussions with Roblox and Minecraft's owner, Microsoft, are yet to be initiated, Sweeney expressed optimism about future collaborations. "The whole thesis here is that players are gravitating towards games which they can play together with all their friends, and players are spending more on digital items in games that they trust they’re going to play for a long time," he said. He envisions an interoperable economy that enhances player trust by ensuring that digital purchases remain valuable over time and across different gaming environments.

Echoing Sweeney's sentiments, Epic EVP Saxs Persson highlighted the potential for a federated gaming ecosystem. "There’s no reason why we couldn’t have a federated way to flow between Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite. From our perspective, that would be amazing, because it keeps people together and lets the best ecosystem win."

Persson further elaborated on the practical benefits of this approach in a previous interview with The Verge. "We’re trying to invent something. We’re just trying to broaden something that we already see today in Fortnite. That’s all we’re doing really is doubling down on the things that we know are successful today. That’s what Tim is saying," he stated. He added, "If you play with your friends, if you have more choice, you stay longer, play more, you enjoy your time more. The formula is pretty simple."

Sweeney concluded by noting the competitive landscape of the gaming industry, "In the game business, there are enough ecosystems and publishers with their own ecosystems that there isn’t any chance of one company just totally dominating them all, as has happened in smartphones." This vision of a collaborative, interconnected metaverse powered by Unreal Engine 6 promises to redefine the future of gaming.