The history of Unreal Engine: From game, to game engine

While Unreal Engine is indisputably one of the most powerful and popular tools for creating graphics for everything from video games to Hollywood movies, that wasn’t always the case. Born in the mid-1990s, the game engine has moved from being a small in-house engine used for the game series from which the engine draws its name, to being a tool used by creators the world over. Let’s take a look back at the history of Unreal Engine!

Inception.
The story of Unreal Engine begins with its creators… Epic Games. Or, should we call them Epic MegaGames Inc, as they were known back in the mid to late 1990s. At this time, the company, established in 1991, had already made a small name for itself working on a variety of games for MS-DOS and Windows operating systems.

But in 1998 came the hit that would change everything: Unreal. This rattlingly fast FPS was an instantaneous hit, spawning a whole host of sequels that would come to be some of the most important titles in early e-sports.

But, for our story, we’re interested in how Unreal was made… and that was, of course, using Unreal engine. While the game engine had been in development since the early 1990s, Unreal was its debut, and it hit a home run. Immediately, developers wanted to get their hands on this powerful game engine as it boasted features many developers had been dreaming of dynamic lighting, real-time shadows, and support for large environments.

Unreal supercharged graphics capabilities of games in the late 1990s, something that it has continued to do since then.

Second Generation.
Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, had always conceived of Unreal Engine not only as an in-house tool but as one which could become a product in itself, being sold to other developers and studios.

Building on the success of the initial iteration of Unreal Engine, Unreal Engine 2 was released in 2002 and continued to push the boundaries of graphics and multiplayer functionality.

Third Time’s a Charm.
While Unreal Engine 1 and 2 left a remarkable splash in the gaming industry, the early 2000s still saw many developers using their own custom game engines to make their games.

Unreal Engine 3, released in 2004, turned enough heads to start an industry-wide shift. The engine’s capabilities were put on full display through the use of it in three landmark titles of the 2000s such as Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Bioshock.

With Unreal Engine continually being used in the production of genre-defining games, even those beyond the gaming industry became fascinated with the product. Professionals from various fields, from film production to architectural visualisation, began purchasing and using Unreal Engine in their professional work.

Unreal Engine 4.
For a decade, Unreal Engine 3 continued to be used in an increasing number of titles. But by the mid-2010s, the engine was starting to show its age. Fortunately, Epic Games saw this coming and released the fourth iteration of the game engine which, once again, brought Unreal Engine into the limelight. While this update included all the graphical and computational upgrades one would expect from a decade of enhancements, its key focus was in fact on accessibility.

The key mission of Unreal Engine 4 was to democratise its game engine, making it more accessible for Indie developers, amateurs, and AAA studios alike. Thus, this iteration introduced several features which Unreal Engine is still lorded for today including visual scripting, a more user-friendly interface, and more robust pipelines.

Due to this accessibility, Unreal Engine 4 saw more and more games built using it. From AAA games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Tomb Raider, and Fortnite, to more niche offerings like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and Rocket League. If you’re still playing Rocket League, you can get ahead and buy rocket league credits!

The evolution of Unreal graphics is incredible

AAA, Hollywood, and Nanites: Unreal Engine 5.
Unveiled in 2021 and released in early 2022, Unreal Engine 5 is the latest version of the landmark game engine. After the previous generation’s massive improvements in accessibility and usability, Unreal Engine 5 was able to focus its attention back on graphics, positioning the engine, once again, as one of the most graphically advanced available.

These improvements came in the form of real-time graphics, “nanite” geometry, and “lumen” illumination technologies. Each of these allowed for increased dynamism and realism without the performance overhead.

Unreal to Real.
The impressive history of Unreal Engine is a testament to the hundreds, or thousands, of engineers who have contributed to the engine across two decades.

These innovative, hard-working individuals have continued to push the boundaries of what is possible, solidifying Unreal Engine as one of, if not the, greatest game engine ever made.

And with Unreal’s influence reaching more industries than ever, it’s clear that the engine will continue to be used by professionals around the globe for years to come.