Search form

Epic Games Awards More Than Half a Million Dollars in Unreal Dev Grants

Recipients include 30 developers, programmers and artists for their standout projects developed on Unreal Engine 4.

CARY, NC -- Epic Games has announced the latest round of Unreal Dev Grants, totaling more than half a million dollars. More than 30 developers, artists and programmers were hand-picked for their incredible projects developed on the engine.

Unreal Dev Grants is a $5 million program that provides no-strings-attached funding to outstanding developers, programmers, artists and designers using Unreal Engine 4. Since the program’s launch in February 2015, Epic has awarded a total of $1.2 million to developers for their work.

A number of the recipients will be offering demos of their projects on the GDC show floor. You can find more information on today’s recipients, as well as where to check them out, below:

‘Giant’ by Milica Zec and Winslow Turner Porter III

  • Giant is an emotional, critically acclaimed VR film revealed at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, showing on Oculus. Drawing on director and co-creator Milica Zec’s personal experiences as a child in war-torn Serbia, Giant transports the viewer into the life of a family struggling to survive in an active war zone.
  • Giant is available for demos at Epic’s GDC VR Lounge on the third floor in Moscone West.

‘Thunderbird’ by Innervision VR

  • Thunderbird is an immersive first-person adventure game designed and created by a team of two - a father and son. Thunderbird takes players on a fantastical journey and was recently the winner of “Best VR Experience” at the recent Vision Summit.
  • Thunderbird is available for demos at Epic’s GDC VR Lounge on the third floor in Moscone West.

‘Astroneer’ by System Era

  • Astroneer, the upcoming sci-fi adventure game from System Era Softworks, is a game of aerospace industry and interplanetary exploration where players must find a way to dig out a life on one of a multitude of harsh new worlds while discovering oddities, raising questions, and uncovering mysteries.
  • Astroneer is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

‘Obduction’ by Cyan

  • Obduction is Cyan's highly anticipated spiritual successor to Myst and Riven and is scheduled for release in June 2016 on PC.
  • Obduction is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

‘GRIP’ by Caged Element

  • Caged Element’s GRIP is a futuristic combat racer inspired by the Rollcage games from 1999/2000. It combines furious speed with intense action to create unforgettable racing moments. The game is currently on Steam right now!
  • GRIP is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

‘Traverse’ by Mad Cow Studio

  • Traverse is a massively multiplayer online sandbox game currently in development by Mad Cow Studio. The game combines many elements from various game styles, ranging from class-based character specialization and action-based combat to voxel-based planet shaping.

‘Voidrunner’ by RealityArts

  • RealityArts’ Voidrunner is a multiplayer flight game currently planned for release on PC, Mac and consoles.

‘Way to the Woods’ by Anthony Tan

  • Way to the Woods is an adventure game created by 16-year-old Anthony Tan, based in Australia. Way to the Woods, which first gained notoriety after Tan released images of the project on Reddit, is currently being developed for PC.

‘Ashen’ by Aurora44

  • Ashen is a third person action RPG from Aurora44. At its core, Ashen is about forging relationships and allowing players to guide those they trust to their camp to come together in order to survive.

‘Terror Web’ by Sam Macaroni

  • Terror Web is a virtual reality first person shooter game where the player finds themselves fighting to survive against giant spiders in the destroyed streets of a city. Terror Web was created by YouTube personality Sam Macaroni with the help of his partner Tim Montijo, and currently has a demo playable on the HTC Vive.

‘Project Genom’ by NeuronHaze

  • NeuronHaze’s Project Genom is a sci-fi MMORPG set in an alien world that allows players to participate in the battle for the survival of humankind

‘Project Moss’

  • The Seattle-based team behind Project Moss is comprised of former Bungie developers working on an upcoming game for VR platforms. Look out for more information about this project in the future.   

‘Perception’ by Deep End Games

  • Perception is a new narrative horror adventure from Deep End Games, a studio comprised of developers who previously worked on the BioShock and Dead Space games. Perception offers a bold and fresh take on first person narrative games, and tells the story of a blind heroine who uses her other senses to unravel mysteries of an abandoned estate that haunts her dreams.

‘Probuilder’ by Six by Seven Studio

  • Six by Seven Studio’s Probuilder is a popular Unity plugin for geometry tools that has been ported to UE4.

‘RUINER’ by Reikon Games

  • RUINER is a brutal action shooter set in the year 2091, created by Reikon Games. It’s a story-driven game created in the spirit of cult cyberpunk anime. ‘

‘WARTILE’ by Playwood Games

  • WARTILE is a real time strategy game for PC and tablets from studio Playwood Games in which players must lead a small band of miniature figures to battle on the battle board. ‘

‘Shape of the World’ by Hollow Tree Games

  • Shape of the World is an ephemeral first-person exploration game from Hollow Tree Games. The game is set for release on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Mac later this year. ‘

Rense De Boer

  • Rense is an artist building content that uses photogrammetry as its foundation, in turn, creating breathtaking technical demos that will fully utilize 4k displays.

UE4Arch

  • UE4Arch utilizes UE4 to create hyper-realistic virtual creations that can be experienced in virtual reality. UE4Arch was also the first company to create interactive photo realistic archviz projects for UE4 and is at the forefront of this market.

‘NEBULA: Sole Survivor’ by Bruno Gruber de Araujo

  • NEBULA: Sole Survivor is an exploration-focused role-playing game from Bruno Gruber de Araujo that combines action and RPG elements. The sci-fi shooter will have players killing hordes of aliens and solving mysteries to find their way out of this godforsaken rock!

‘Aurora’ by Jason Connell

  • Jason Connell’s Aurora is an upcoming minimalist short story is told through captivating music and visuals.

‘Brookhaven Experiment’ by Phosphor Games

  • Phosphor Games’ Brookhaven Experiment is a virtual reality survival shooter for the HTC Vive. Players will have to use the weapons and tools provided to survive terrifying waves of horrific monsters in an attempt to figure out what caused the beginning of the end of the world

Dungeon Architect by Ali Akbar

  • Dungeon Architect is a plugin for the Unreal Editor created by Ali Akbar. The plugin helps in streamlining the level creation process and allows designers to quickly create levels procedurally (or manually) by blocking out volumes and having the plugin build the environment automatically around it.

‘Submerge’ by Ice Bird Studios

  • Submerge is a fast-paced, tactical survival game from Ice Bird Studios. The RTS game is set underwater and focuses mainly on thrilling multiplayer matches.

‘Deliver us the Moon’ by KeokeN Interactive

  • KeokeN Interactive’s Deliver Us the Moon is a game set in the near future, where Earth's resources are nearly depleted and players must traverse the moon, explore abandoned facilities and perhaps even uncover some secrets and hidden agendas with the information you gather.

Dries Deryckere

  • Dries is Game Graphics student at Howest University in Belgium and the creator of the Destructible Car in Unreal Engine.

Adam Horvath

  • Adam is an AR developer and an active member of the UE4 community. He was spotlighted in the media for his amazing creation of an AR fight scene using a UE4 plugin.

‘Solitairica’ by Righteous Hammer

  • Righteous Hammer’s Solitairica is a mix between a card game and RPG battler. The mobile game is slated to release on iOS later this year.

Peter Newton

  • Peter is an experienced instructor who provides online tutoring sessions for UE4. He is currently working on A.I.-related projects.

Michael Allar

  • Michael is a hero within the UE4 community. He is an avid user of UE4 and takes advantage of all that the engine has to offer.

Source: Epic Games