Epic Games Acquires Capturing Reality

Epic Games Expands Capabilities with Capturing Reality Acquisition

Epic Games is rapidly solidifying its position as a key player in gaming infrastructure mergers and acquisitions. This growth is fueled by a series of recent strategic purchases designed to enhance their Unreal Engine developer suite.

The company has announced the acquisition of Capturing Reality, a photogrammetry studio. This integration aims to significantly improve Epic’s ability to process and utilize 3D scans of both environments and objects.

Understanding Photogrammetry

The financial details of this acquisition have not been publicly released.

Photogrammetry is a technique that involves combining numerous photographs or laser scans to construct detailed 3D models. These models can then be exported as single, cohesive files.

Advancements in computer vision are reducing the need for manual adjustments, leading game designers to increasingly rely on photogrammetry for importing realistic, real-world environments into their games.

Benefits for Game Development

Employing photogrammetry allows studio developers to generate photorealistic assets much faster than traditional, manual 3D modeling.

This technology can be applied to a wide range of assets, including clothing items, vehicles, and even large-scale landscapes. Essentially, any object existing in three-dimensional space can be captured.

As gaming consoles and GPUs become more powerful, the demand for highly detailed 3D assets continues to grow, making photogrammetry an increasingly valuable tool.

Integration and Pricing Changes

The Capturing Reality studio, located in Bratislava, will maintain its operational independence while its technology is integrated into the Unreal Engine ecosystem.

Epic Games has announced price reductions for Capturing Reality’s services. The cost of a perpetual license has been lowered from approximately $18,000 to $3,750.

According to FAQs published on the studio’s website, they will continue to provide support for clients outside of the gaming industry.

Previous Acquisition: Quixel

In 2019, Epic Games previously acquired Quixel, a company known for its extensive library of photogrammetry “megascans” accessible to developers.