Epic Games, Inc., developer of top-selling games including Gears of War and the Unreal franchise, announced today that it has licensed IDV’s SpeedTree RT in Unreal Tournament 3. The game industry’s leading foliage technology is set to enhance the game’s virtual worlds as well as offer unprecedented tree-editing features to players creating their own game versions.

Epic is using Unreal Engine 3, the engine technology it also sells commercially, to create Unreal Tournament 3. In 2006, SpeedTree became one of the first members of the Integrated Partners Program for Unreal Engine 3. Teams at both IDV and Epic Games worked together to create a seamless, highly functional integration between SpeedTree and the popular engine.

“The integration of SpeedTreeRT with our engine brings the best of two leading edge technologies to Unreal Tournament 3,” said Mark Rein, vice president, Epic Games. “Outstanding gameplay in amazing environments will blow players away.”

But players are going to get more than graphic excellence, Rein added. “For the first time in any game featuring SpeedTree, Unreal Tournament 3 is going to let players use the professional tree-editing features of the SpeedTree system to create and edit foliage in the worlds they develop. Content creators will enjoy an unprecedented degree of freedom and as they build fantastic new worlds.”

Noted IDV CEO Chris King, “SpeedTree is the undisputed leader in virtual foliage, and its superb presentation in Unreal Tournament 3 will set a new standard in the way games should look and feel. Unreal Tournament 3 is going to be an incredible experience, and we are unbelievably proud to get to be part of it.”