Tomb Raider 4 using Unreal Engine 5

Crystal Dynamics used Tuesday's The State of Unreal Event 2022 to announce Tomb Raider 4 is in development using Epic Games' next-generation game engine.



Game director Will Kerslake explained that the new game will 'unify' classic and reboot timelines:

"[Crystal Dynamics'] origin trilogy back in 2013 told the story of Lara's early days [...] while the classic games featured a seasoned and confident adventurer, travelling the world, unlocking its secrets, often standing alone against cataclysmic forces. We envision the future of Tomb Raider unfolding after these established adventures, telling stories that build upon the breadth of both Core Design and Crystal Dynamics' games, working to unify these timelines."

Camilla Luddington (Grey's Anatomy) provided the voice and motion capture reference for Lara Croft in the rebooted trilogy. Hopefully, she's reprising the role for the upcoming fourth instalment.

Rise of the Tomb Raider was published by Microsoft as a timed exclusive for Xbox when the Redmond-based company bankrolled the first sequel. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s another tie-in as Epic Games emphasised Unreal Engine 5 development on Xbox. However, it’s worth noting Sony, the owner of PlayStation, has a minority stake in Epic Games and Unreal Engine 5 was publicly demoed in 2020 on PlayStation 5 (PS5).



Microsoft has been buying AAA publishers to bolster Xbox Game Pass. Crystal Dynamics could be a good fit for Xbox Game Studios.

Tomb Raider 4 is one of several popular media franchises using Unreal Engine 5. The dominance of one game engine could be anti-competitive. However, the Unreal Engine has proven its scalability, powering franchises from BioShock to Mass Effect and Epic Games' very own Fortnite.

The Matrix Awakens on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

The Matrix Resurrections is released in theatres and on HBO Max this holiday season.

To celebrate, Warner Bros. has joined forces with Epic Games to create The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience for PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S. As a Star Wars fan, I see what you did there, Warner Bros!



Read the official synopsis:

"Created by members of the original movie team including Lana Wachowski along with Epic Games and partners, 'The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience' is a wild ride into the reality-bending universe of 'The Matrix' that features performances by Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss."

I'll be pre-downloading The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience onto my PS5 in anticipation of The Matrix Resurrections. Will you? Let me know in the comments below.

Celebrate Alien Day on Fortnite

It's Alien Day celebrating all things xenomorph on LV-426 and they're invading Fortnite. Play as Ripley or as a xenomorph.



"They mostly come out at night... mostly." An iconic line from Aliens, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

Director James Cameron's action-packed sequel to Sir Ridley Scott's haunted house in space remains one of my all-time favourite films. At the time of Aliens' original release, I was too young to see it in a theatre.

However, I remember cycling to the newsagents whilst on school summer holiday staying with grandparents, picking up a copy of Starburst magazine and excitedly leafing through its pages, reading Alan Dean Foster's novelisation out on store deliveries with dad and playing the 8-bit video game tie-in on Commodore 64. Being blessed with a cool mum meant I was able to see Aliens (on rental video) a few months later to the envy of high school friends.

In related news. Twitter experienced a xenomorph infestation of its own when folks argued whether or not Alien was a horror movie? Kevin Smith stepped in to save the day. Prometheus is now streaming on Star on Disney+. And Nick Smith will be reviewing Marvel Comics' Alien series soon.

Here's hoping Fortnite does something similar for Star Wars Day on 4th May.

What are your favourite Alien franchise memories? Let me know in the comments below.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits at State of Play

A new trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits was revealed during Sony's State of Play and my PS5's DualSense is ready.

The upcoming story-driven action-adventure video game is from third-party studio Ember Lab whose clients include Coca-Cola.



The game's release has been delayed due to developers working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. However, it now looks even more like an interactive Pixar movie and a stunning showcase for Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits for PC, PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation 5 (PS5) is available for pre-order. I know what I'll be spending my PlayStation Store credit on (courtesy of a Cyberpunk 2077 refund).

Are you looking forward to Kena: Bridge of Spirits on 24th August? Let me know in the comments below.

Apple TV+ coming to Xbox and PlayStation

With just over a month to go until the next-gen consoles arrive, reports suggest Apple TV+ is heading to Xbox and PlayStation in the very near future.

Selected Xbox Insider Program members are purportedly testing a trial version of the app, which could be released in time for 10th November. If so, all current and next-gen Xbox systems will be compatible, and the Series S will make my Apple TV 4K redundant in the bedroom.

Well, assuming BritBox gets its app onto both console platforms this holiday season. This autumn I've started rewatching Blake's 7 and have no memory of seeing the early episodes until the one with a giant brain encased inside a Death Star-like planetoid! I was recovering from a brain injury when Terry Nation's sci-fi series started, weeks before Star Wars screened at the local Odeon. I digress.

Similarly, it appears selected users are testing an Apple TV+ app for PlayStation. And there's a suggestion AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support is coming, too. This can only be seen as consumer-friendly despite the ongoing spat over Game Pass and Epic Games' Fortnite on the Cupertino-based company's devices.

Fortnite gets The Last Laugh

Epic Games' Fortnite may have been removed from both Apple and Google app stores for the foreseeable future. However, it's DC FanDome this week and the company has teamed up with Warner Bros. to bring a new DC Comics supervillain bundle including The Joker to Fortnite.

You'll be able to download the new The Last Laugh bundle (affiliate link) for £24.99 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch through Fortnite's in-game store or as a physical copy from retailers this November. “It will also arrive in time for the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X next-generation consoles,” Epic Games said. The company has previously worked with Marvel Comics.

With regards to the app store lawsuit. “For players on mobile and PC platforms, we've got you covered,” the Fortnite creator said. “We'll share how you'll be able to purchase the Fortnite: The Last Laugh Bundle soon.”

Stay tuned for further Fortnite and DC FanDome coverage.

Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite

In the midst of a global pandemic a new Fortnite season is heralded by a stage-managed spat between Epic Games, Apple and Google, which has divided gamers following the removal of Fortnite from the tech titans' app stores due to the company bypassing storefronts and a 30% charge.

“Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market,” the company said in a statement.

Epic Games released a parody of Apple's 1984 commercial directed by Ridley Scott (Alien).



Whilst some commentators have suggested it's a David and Goliath battle, Epic Games has profited hugely from the runaway success of Fortnite, a $200 million dollar investment from Sony and licensing its Unreal Engine for use in video games and productions including Disney+ live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian.

“We applaud Epic Games’ decision to take a stand against Apple and shed further light on Apple’s abuse of its dominant position,” a Spotify spokesperson said late on Thursday. “Apple’s unfair practices have disadvantaged competitors and deprived consumers for far too long. The stakes for consumers and app developers large and small couldn’t be higher and ensuring that the iOS platform [Apple’s operating system] operates competitively and fairly is an urgent task with far-reaching implications.”

The coronavirus pandemic has seen Apple's sales increase exponentially with the iPhone SE (I finally moved over to iOS devices full-time when the new model was launched earlier this year) being the biggest beneficiary. xCloud, Microsoft's upcoming streaming service free for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers (myself included), won't be available at launch. Clearly, a battle royale is in the making courtesy of clever marketing with Facebook entering the fray.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish streaming season one of Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, an acerbic video game industry satire, on Apple TV+.

Sony invests $250 million into Fortnite creator

Following the impressive Unreal Engine 5 tech demo running on PlayStation 5 (PS5) last May. Sony has acquired a minority stake in Epic Games, creator of the Fortnite online video game franchise.

“Epic’s powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations. There’s no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience Fortnite,” Sony president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in a statement.

“Throughout our investment, we will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games, but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape,” Yoshida added.

Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney added, “Sony and Epic have both built businesses at the intersection of creativity and technology, and we share a vision of real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music. Together we strive to build an even more open and accessible digital ecosystem for all consumers and content creators alike.”

Epic Games most recently worked with Lucasfilm on real-time visual effects rendering for Disney+'s first live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

Unreal Engine 5 demoed on PS5

On Wednesday Epic Games revealed Unreal Engine 5 running in real-time on the as-yet-unreleased PlayStation 5 (PS5), and the reaction could not have gone better for Sony!

Not only does Lumen in the Land of Nanite showcase the PS5's in-game potential, it also demonstrates what Epic Games has learned from its Hollywood partnerships. For example working with Lucasfilm on Star Wars properties including live-action series The Mandalorian.



What was your reaction to the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo on PS5? Let me know in the comments below.

Epic Games demos future of gaming with Star Wars

Star Wars has a storied history with gaming technology. From an Atari arcade tie-in for the original trilogy to the founding of Lucasfilm Games, which would become the defunct LucasArts.

For the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC), Epic Games teamed up with Nvidia and Lucasfilm's ILMxLAB for a fun Star Wars cinematic demo featuring Captain Phasma and First Order Stormtroopers created using an experimental code for Unreal Engine 4.

Tim Sweeney of Epic Games explains:

“Ray tracing is a rendering process typically only associated with high-end offline renderers and hours and hours of computer processing time, film-quality ray tracing in real-time is an Unreal Engine first. This is an exciting new development for the media and entertainment linear content worlds—and any markets that require photo-realistic visualization.”

Epic Games rendered K-2SO in real-time for Rogue One

K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) stole the show in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Lucasfilm's John Knoll took to the stage, at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), to demonstrate how the caustic droid was fully rendered in real-time.

The technique was developed by a team at ILM, modifying Unreal Engine 4’s source code from developer Epic Games. Epic's Tim Sweeney was ecstatic.

"So final pixels rendered in the Star Wars movie, using the Unreal Engine, in real time. And it went into the movie! These are pixels you see in the movie! It's unbelievable," says Sweeney. "These real-world usage cases have pushed us much harder than before. Because as game developers, if we can't render a particular type of object well, we just put something else there instead, right. We can cheat. But these other industries cannot cheat. We have to solve all of the hard problems."

Rogue One was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars, but lost out to stablemate, and worthy winner, The Jungle Book.