Epic Games has acquired Megascans creator Quixel, along with its library of photogrammetry assets scanned from all over the world and 3D art tools.
Quixel was founded in 2011 and has been capturing real-world objects, buildings and even animal fur, which can be downloaded by videogame artists. Megascans currently hosts more than 10,000 assets.
With the acquisition, this substantial library will become free for all Unreal Engine users, starting with ten high resolution packs that are available on the Unreal Engine Marketplace today. More packs will be made available at a future date.
New versions of Mixer and Bridge, which let designers edit and manage assets, will also be released for free to everyone in a few weeks, with details on the updates coming soon.
Current subscribers who are only using Megascans with Unreal Engine will have their subscription refunded, while subscription prices will be lowered across the board. Users will apparently be able to download nearly twice as many assets, no matter what engine they use, and there won't be a resolution cap.
Back in March, Quixel released Rebirth, an impressive sci-fi cinematic created using the Unreal Engine and Megascans assets, specifically the Icelandic Collection. It's got some Death Stranding and Blade Runner vibes and I really wish there was a game attached. Give it a watch below.
Unreal Engine users will be able to fiddle with some of the assets used in the cinematic from today. Go on, make me an Icelandic Blade Runner game. Please.
