In the past couple of years, over 30 games have been either announced or rumoured to be using the Unreal Engine 3 technology, but still not one of them has seen the light of retail as of yet. While waiting for the third coming of Jesus Epic, we now learn that Sony Online Entertainment has also joined the Unreal 3 bandwagon. In its latest press release, SOE announces that Epic's next generation 3D engine will power several of their next-gen online games, both on PC and consoles, including the DC Comics-based game currently under development at SOE-Austin.

"Our development teams are very excited about harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 3", said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. "The combination of a top-notch graphics engine and a robust set of design tools will enable our teams to deliver incredible and innovative game content for next-generation consoles and the PC."

This agreement allows Epic Games to include another impressive name to an already extraordinary list of licensing partners.

"Sony Online Entertainment has a reputation for delivering detailed, truly engaging, interactive online worlds", said Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. "It is a great privilege for us that they're using Unreal Engine 3 to help create their next generation projects."

I wonder how Blizzard's World of Warcraft will be doing in a few years, by the time SOE churns out its first next-gen online game... Because right now, what the world nees is not another MMORPG.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)