The Unreal Engine Is Ready for Natal Development

Microsoft has recently released a list of huge publishers, ranging from Electronic Arts to Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, that are set to support the developers of videogames that will work with the upcoming Project Natal.

But the manufacturer of the Xbox 360 has not indicated any concrete project that will use the new platform by name. Now, Epic Games, the people behind the very successful Gears of War franchise, which is exclusive to the Microsoft gaming console, are apparently being the first to confirm that their game engine will work for Natal.

Mark Rein, who is a vice president at Epic Games, and one of the company's public voices, told the Official Xbox Magazine in the United Kingdom that “We are going to work with Microsoft to make that available to Unreal Engine licensees who want to make Natal games. So, if you want to make a game on Natal, you want to get a big head start and use the same tech as Microsoft, come talk to me. We are the unofficial engine of Natal, or maybe the official, I don't know. In other words, we consider ourselves the 'economic engine of Natal.' You want to make money with Natal, come talk to us, we'll help you.”

Considering that the source of the news is OXM, Rein's statement probably means that Epic is set to offer a version of the Unreal engine to those interested in creating videogames for Natal even before Microsoft officially launches the new hardware device.

It just might be that Epic is also working on creating a fresh videogame that will be a launch title for Project Natal and that the developers are working on patching Gears of War 2 to be compatible with the motion-tracking device, even if sources within the Redmond-based company have said that such a process would take time and could prove pretty complex.