LONDON — At Unreal Academy London, Epic Games announced the acquisition of Quixel (www.quixel.com), the creator of the large photogrammetry asset library and bundled toolset. All Quixel Megascans will now be free for all use with Unreal Engine. In addition, Epic announced significant Unreal Engine developments that streamline functionality.
Founded in 2011, Quixel’s products include Megascans, an extensive library of 2D and 3D photogrammetry assets, supported by companion applications Bridge and Mixer. Game developers, filmmakers and visualization specialists have used Quixel Megascans assets to craft blockbuster games (Metro Exodus, Destiny 2, Battlefield V), animated entertainment (The Jungle Book, Black Panther, The Lion King, Pacific Rim: Uprising), and lifelike scenes through high-quality content and access to a vast array of tools. Quixel’s primary operations will remain based in Sweden, with over 100 employees across six countries joining the Epic Games team.
“Building photorealistic 3D content is an expensive endeavor in game development and film production,” says Epic Games founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney. “By coming together with Quixel to make Megascans free for all use in Unreal Engine, this level of artistry is now available to everyone, from triple-A studios to indies.”
“Our mission at Quixel has always been to make the world more accessible for everyone through ultra-high resolution scanning,” adds Quixel co-founder Teddy Bergsman. “As part of Epic Games, we’re now able to accelerate this vision as we grow the Megascans library, speed up the development of Bridge and Mixer, and improve integrations with all major 3D software and renderers.”
As part of making the Quixel Megascans library of more than 10,000 assets free for use with Unreal Engine, ten high-resolution packs have been shared today for free on the Unreal Engine Marketplace, as well as a collection of assets from the popular Iceland collection used in the Rebirth (pictured) cinematic short. Additional asset packs will be made available for free on the Marketplace at a future date within the Unreal Engine 4.24 release timeframe.
Quixel Mixer and Quixel Bridge are being made available for free to all, regardless of engine choice or license type. In addition, all Quixel Megascans users can look forward to more downloads per month and more generous license terms.
In related news, Epic announced more streamlined features and workflows that advance Unreal Engine for all creators. Starting with Unreal Engine 4.24, features such as the Datasmith suite of plug-ins, static mesh editing, and the Variant Manager - previously available through the free Unreal Studio beta - now ship as part of the unified binary tool. As a result, all Unreal Engine users will now have access to the same features, regardless of industry and use case.
As a result of this shift, the Unreal Studio beta will be retired upon the release of Unreal Engine 4.24. Users remaining on Unreal Studio 4.23 or earlier will be able to continue using the product, however Epic will no longer release new versions or offer further support. The Datasmith plug-in for 4.19-4.23 will be made available for all users for free on the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
Available now in Preview 1, Unreal Engine 4.24 ships with a number of upgrades and new features. New nondestructive, layer-based Landscape workflows enable more interesting and engaging outdoor environments where the terrain automatically adapts to other elements in the world. The Sky Atmosphere component generates a physically-accurate sky that can be updated dynamically depending on the time of day. The new experimental strand-based hair and fur system brings characters to life with realistic, flowing hair. Screen-space global illumination allows for natural light-filled spaces using fewer resources. And the Live Universal Scene Description (USD) Stage Actor creates a direct link to the USD file on disk for faster iteration and better collaboration.
Powered by Unreal Engine, Twinmotion is a highly intuitive, high-quality solution for fast and easy realtime visualization for architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping. Previously, Epic had announced that Twinmotion would remain free until November 2019; once downloaded, the free version can be used indefinitely. Epic is extending the free availability until the next release of Twinmotion, which is anticipated to ship in the first quarter of 2020. The new version will offer even greater photorealism, improved assets, tools to facilitate collaborative workflows, and more.