Unreal Engine 6: Epic’s Ambitious Plan for an Interoperable Metaverse

In General XR News

October 8, 2024 – Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has recently discussed the company’s long-term vision for Unreal Engine 6 and a broader metaverse initiative that aims to connect various Unreal Engine-powered games, including Fortnite. 

In an interview with The Verge, Sweeney stated that Epic is working towards a new version of Unreal Engine, the company’s high-end game engine, that would also tie in Unreal Editor, a more user-friendly PC application for designing, developing, and publishing games and experiences directly into Fortnite.

With these two offerings from Epic eventually merged, the resulting product would be Unreal Engine 6, which according to Sweeney, will take several years to realize. However, with Unreal Engine 6, the objective is to allow developers to build an app once and then deploy it to any platform, making gaming content potentially interoperable between games. For example, content deployed into Fortnite could then be interoperable with other games that also use Unreal Engine 6’s technology base. 

Unreal Engine 6: Merging Worlds

One example of this would be an upcoming “persistent universe” that Epic is building in partnership with Disney. Sweeney told The Verge: “We announced that we’re working with Disney to build a Disney ecosystem that’s theirs, but it fully interoperates with the Fortnite ecosystem… What we’re talking about with Unreal Engine 6 is the technology base that’s going to make that possible for everybody. Triple-A game developers to indie game developers to Fortnite creators achieving that same sort of thing.”

This new glimpse of Epic’s roadmap for an “interoperable metaverse” through Unreal Engine 6 would significantly change not only how developers build and deploy games, but how users engage and interact with various gaming titles and IPs, potentially allowing players to transition between different game worlds.

Unreal Expectations?

However, in order for Epic’s vision of the metaverse to become a reality, this level of interoperability will require buy-in from other contenders in the virtual world space. Companies like Epic, Microsoft, Roblox, and even Valve, Epic’s main competitor in the area of PC gaming storefronts will need to figure out a way to allow players to move seamlessly from one game or world to another.

Sweeney stated that Epic hasn’t yet held these sorts of discussions with anyone but Disney, but added that the company will do so “over time.” To the Epic CEO, enabling interoperability between platforms would likely involve some sort of revenue share arrangement between companies, where games and experiences act as sources of engagement for players, in which they would spend money.

“The whole thesis here is that players are gravitating towards games which they can play together with all their friends, and players are spending more on digital items in games that they trust they’re going to play for a long time,” said Sweeney.

Trust would make up one key part of an interoperable metaverse, and could actually lead to increased revenue for all companies involved, in that players would be more willing to spend money on digital items if they know they will be able to use them and take these items with them wherever they go across different digital worlds.

Building Toward the Future

Epic’s vision for Unreal Engine 6 and the broader metaverse is ambitious, but hurdles remain ahead. However, Sweeney’s remarks during his keynote speech at Unreal Fest in Seattle last week indicate that the company is now in a better financial position to move forward with its plans.

Sweeney stated: “Last year’s Unreal Fest began with some sad news. The company had to get its finances in order and we just had some major layoffs, and we spent the last year rebuilding and also really executing solidly on all fronts. I’m happy to tell you now that the company is financially sound, and that Fortnite and Epic Games Store have hit new records in concurrency and success.”

Whether the company’s vision materializes as planned remains to be seen, but the groundwork is already being laid for a future where digital ecosystems are more connected than ever. And with huge gaming titles like Halo announcing this week that the next generation of games will be built on Unreal Engine, it underscores the significant impact that Epic’s game development engine is poised to have on the future of games and the metaverse.

Image credit: Epic Games / Halo Studios / YouTube