![]() "Computer graphics became powerful enough to make photorealistic images in real time," said Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, a turning point that occurred a few years ago and opened up the possibilities for many more applications. There are dozens of Epic employees who are now dedicated to supporting non-gaming markets, an Epic spokeswoman said. Since releasing the latest version, Unreal Engine 4, for free in 2015, the company has grown an enterprise team that supports architectural visualization and other non-gaming markets. But as the technology advances and more industries incorporate high quality graphics, Epic's reach is spreading. ![]() Venturing beyond gaming isn't new for Epic.In 2007, architecture firm HKS used a previous iteration of the Unreal Engine to produce a virtual environment of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium that clients could virtually walk through. In all, more than 7 million people currently license Unreal Engine 4 for both gaming and enterprise use, according to Epic data. The standard royalty model makes Unreal more accessible to hobbyists or even enterprise users looking to get started with the engine. How Epic makes money from other companies "With the success of Fortnite and other titles, the Unreal Engine has been able to experiment with new monetization structures and strategies," Waite said. The game's success also allows Epic to experiment with new ways to make money, from a proprietary game store it just launched to esports, which Waite said should not be underestimated when thinking about long-term value. A key competitive advantage from Fortnite's scale and success is how Unreal designers can use feedback to upgrade the engine, Waite wrote in a September report. Fortnite has been the best marketing tool yet for Unreal Engine's technological developments, particularly the cross-platform capabilities that allow the game to run on smartphones to high-end PCs. The Cary, North Carolina-based company, founded in 1991 in CEO Tim Sweeney's basement, has been a force in gaming and computer graphics for many years. Epic Games originally developed the engine for its Unreal series, then spun those development tools out into Unreal Engine. ![]() Game engines like Unreal are the software that developers use to build their creations, offering tools that help render graphics and control actions in a game's environment such as collisions. Over time, these infrastructure offerings have become core businesses of their own," said Jud Waite, senior analyst at CB Insights, which studies the start-up marketplace. Both companies monetize the proprietary infrastructure used to support their core businesses. "In a way, the Unreal Engine is to Epic Games what AWS is to Amazon.
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