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Fortnite's creator Epic games, a private company has announced the acquisition of photogrammetry asset holding company Quixel. Quixel is based in Sweden, and the acquisition will give Epic Games access to the company's 10,000 photgrammatic assets. Quixel's assets are used by developers throughout the world to make movies and create games. The acquisition follows Quixel's demonstration of a short-film at Epic Games' event during the GDC. As a result of the takeover, Epic Games will bring Quixel's 100 employees on its payroll.
Epic Games Announces Quixel Acquisition At The Unreal Academy London - All Of Quixel's 10,000 Photogrammateric Assets will Be Available For Use On Unreal Engine Marketplace
Advances in computing have enabled even the smallest of gadgets, such as the smartphone, to render highly realistic environments. Augmented and virtual reality applications for desktop and mobile-based systems are able to deliver realistic experiences; experienced rendered through the art of photogrammetry.
Epic Games has understood this and therefore, at its Unreal Academy London event, it announced that all 10,000 of Quixel's photgrammatic assets will be available for use on the Unreal Engine Marketplace. As of the moment, ten high-resolution packs and assets from Quixel's short film Rebirth are available on the marketplace.
Epic Games' decision to acquire Quixel should have positive effects in store for developers. In a blog post, Quixel's CEO Teddy Bergsman Lind highlights that the acquisition marks an important step in the democratization of "transformative technology and content." To achieve this, Teddy's company plans to lower Megascan subscription prices and make the 2020 versions of its asset management applications Bridge and Mixer free for use without subscriptions. Bridge 2020 and Mixer 2020 will be released later this year.
Neither company has provided a material value for the acquisition, and since Epic Games is private, we have no reason to expect any disclosures either. However, this doesn't mean we've got zero numbers to play with. Epic is valued at $15 billion, with the number driven by Fortnite's success. However, as is the case with the tech world, Epic is hard-pressed to find another hit that's the size and scope of Fortnite. Fortnite spending decreased by 52% in Epic's Q2 2019, and with the Quixel acquisition, the company might be working on something really cool.
At this year's GDC, Epic Games announced a $100 million initiative titled 'Epic MegaGrants to assist developers, students, educators and anyone else who might need funding.
Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned. We'll keep you updated on the latest.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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