Good news! Epic Games has posted a progress update on its Unreal Engine 4 support in Linux…
While the Unreal Engine has enjoyed Linux support in the past, with Unreal Engine 4 we want to make #Linux a first class member of our platform family. Our plans regarding the Linux platform balance the needs of both our internal #projects and some partner projects, alongside the larger needs of the Linux community. This roughly translates to four large areas of Unreal Engine4 Linux development (each with its own unique challenges):
- robust, secure and CPU-effective Linux game servers
- full-featured Linux client support
- feature-rich, native Linux development tools
- enhancing our tools on Windows and Mac OS to make targeting Linux easy
When hearing about Unreal Engine 4 supporting Linux, it is easy to only think about the first three. However, if we want Linux to take off in the game development industry at large, we need a seamless integration with existing workflows of game companies, so that costs of shipping a Linux version of the game are minimized. That is why, somewhat counter intuitively, we need robust Windows and Mac OS tools that would allow anyone to target Linux by just recompiling and repackaging the project. This is also why we started out with cross-compilation and are planning to continue to support it, while also working to make native development easier.
We believe that this ability to target Linux (and, particularly, SteamOS) with cross-tools using the existing development environment is needed in order for it to get broader traction.
via Unreal Engine 4 and Linux.
Follow the link up top for more encouraging words from a company you could have mistaken for a Microsoft shill when Cliff Bleszinski was still around…
At this time, it looks like Unreal Tournament 4 is fairly certain to appear on Linux, plus the Unreal engine is fairly popular among major and indie developers alike. Previous iterations provided the backbone of classic titles like Bioshock, Dishonored and that hide & seek trilogy Epic released on the Xbox 360…Gears of War.
Oh yes, and Epic’s Dmitry Rekman goes on to thank the folks at Darkside who are responsible for Bioshock , Gears of War Judgement, and XCOM Enemy Unknown, to name a few. Which is a good indication of upcoming Linux ports.
We feel honored to have people from Google, Red Hat and MIT donating their free time to improve Unreal Engine 4 on Linux! Also special thanks to the folks at DarkSide, particularly Michael Liebenow, who have been working shoulder-to-shoulder with us on UE4’s Linux support.
The planets continue to align. Whilst people do not particularly care for the franchise, we are waiting to see if Activision will bring Call of Duty over to Linux.
Reblogged from: techbeast.net
