Epic Games, the company behind such diversions as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is releasing tools for developers to meet demand for iPhone and iPad games.
The company will launch the latest version of its game-development tools, called the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The free to download kit will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, which should simplify and speed up the development processes for games.
“Apple’s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,” said Epic Chief Executive Mark Rein. “If you’re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you’re nuts not to make it for iOS.”
To date, Apple has sold more than 125 million devices using its iOS operating system, while the Nintendo DS, has shipped roughly 135 million units and the PlayStation Portable has sold more than 62 million units.
Epic doesn’t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. Developers who want to sell their apps must pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.
Rein is tepid about games on the Android market, largely because of ongoing fragmentation woes, which he says he expects Google will iron out sooner rather than later.
Via WSJ
