Epic acquires RAD Game Tools

Epic has bought up RAD Game Tools, promising that its technology will be integrated into Unreal Engine and will still be available for non-Unreal developers.

Bryant Francis, Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com

January 7, 2021

1 Min Read

Epic Games is now the owner of RAD Game Tools.In a short post on Epic's website the company announced that it's picked up the Kirkland-based software developer.

"Together Epic and RAD plan to integrate RAD's powerful technology into Unreal Engine to benefit the developer community and gamers alike," stated the company.

Epic CTO Kim Libereri also credited RAD with developing some of the the compression technology used in Fortnite.

The goal of integrating RAD into Unreal is apparently to allow developers "access to tools that make their games load and download faster, and offer their players a better, higher quality video and gaming experience."

Developers reliant on RAD's tools shouldn't expect that technology to be locked behind Unreal Engine in the near future. Epic stated that RAD will still be supporting its existing clients and selling licenses for its products that do not rely on Unreal.

About the Author

Bryant Francis

Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Bryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.

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