Category: The Orphanage

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Epic Games Awards the Final Round of Unreal Dev Grants

Launched in 2015 to support developers working with Unreal Engine, Epic Games’ $5 million USD Unreal Dev Grants programme has now drawn to a close, awarding the final $500,000 to over a dozen projects, covering industries including gaming, film, VR/AR, education, and more.

Project M Evie

Recipients this time include Backlight, a French studio working on virtual reality (VR) title Eclipse. Created in collaboration with Virtual Adventure, a VR entertainment centre near Paris, Eclipse is a multiplayer experience with 4D interactive elements.

Also in the VR sphere is Shooty Fruity Arcade from nDreams, a VR arcade version of its popular fruit shooting title for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. Then there’s Project M from EVR Studios, a narrative-driven adventure where you’re encouraged to interact and build friendships with the game’s hyper-realistic non-player characters. Or then there’s SnapClick: Fossil Diggers VR by The Orphanage, a puzzle title where you play as a palaeontologist on the hunt to find proof that dinosaurs once existed. Travel to remote locations, explore environments, find fossils and piece them together.

Other recipients also included:

  • Aeon Must Die! by Limestone Games
  • BioStories by Bio-Bridge Initiative
  • Complete Unreal C++ Dev by GameDev.TV
  • Cryptant by Orcari
  • Eximius: Seize the Frontline by Ammobox Studio
  • Glimpse from Mr. Kite
  • Kingshunt from Vaki Games
  • Meta Runner by Glitch Productions
  • Photorealism in UE4 by Rense de Boer
  • Polter Pals by Split Hare Games
  • The Forgotten City from Modern Storyteller
  • Virtual Helsinki by Zoan
Fossil Diggers VR
“With today’s announcement, we’ve reached our $5 million goal for the Unreal Dev Grants program. As we look back at the list of those we’ve been able to support throughout the years, we can’t help but feel deeply honoured to have played a part in the stories of hundreds of projects,” said Chance Ivey, Partnership Manager at Epic Games in a statement. “We remain inspired by the talent and dedication that the Unreal Engine community continues to exhibit, and look forward to where everyone will take things next. Though Unreal Dev Grants is now behind us, it’s not the end of our ongoing support. Tune in to Epic’s State of Unreal opening session at GDC for more information.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Epic Games and Unreal Engine, reporting back with the latest updates.