Epic Games to demonstrate 'breathtaking' Unreal Engine 3 update at GDC

Unreal Engine3 has probably lived beneath a majority of the games you've played since 2006 - it's been the framework for well over 100 major titles, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, Mass Effect, BioShock, and, of course, Epic's own creations. That's why it's a big deal that Epic plans to unveil the next version of the engine at GDC next week.

The company isn't revealing Unreal Engine 4 just yet, mind you - we probably won't see that until the next generation of consoles is on its way - but based on comments about this UE3 update, we can expect big things.

"This technology demonstration is nothing short of breathtaking. It reminds me of when we first showed Unreal Engine 3 to the world and people were amazed," said Epic Games president Dr. Michael Capps. "It’s like seeing the Unreal Engine all over again for the very first time."

As Epic will soon be competing with the likes of id Tech 5, DICE's Frostbite 2, the next IW Engine iteration from Activision's CoD team, and whatever new Source iteration Valve is surely toiling away on, we're willing to bet it has some impressive tech to show off. More advanced brown-rendering technology, maybe?

The company will be unveiling the update behind closed doors with a "completely new, high-end demo." We'll do our darndest to see what the fuss is about next week.

Feb 23, 2011