Epic Games Snaps Up RAD Game Tools

The time is apparently ripe for large corporations to be buying smaller outfits. Nintendo recently bought out Next Level Games, and now Epic Games has joined the feeding frenzy, grabbing RAD Game Tools from the ocean of opportunity.

Epic confirmed via a news post on its website that it “has acquired the technology and business of RAD Game Tools.” RAD joins SuperAwesome and Hypersense Team in the Epic fold, both of which Epic also recently bought out.

RAD, a software development company based out of Kirkland, has seen its technology used across roughly 25,000 video game titles. So, buying it out is a shrewd move by the developers of the Unreal Engine…

What Does Rad Game Tools Offer Epic?

RAD Game Tools is the developer of compression technology; essentially software that makes games load, look, and play better.

Given that Epic Games developed the Unreal game engine, and developers build swathes of titles around Unreal Engine, it makes sense that Epic would want to incorporate RAD’s tech into its own.

Kim Libreri, Epic Games CTO, confirms this, stating:

The news post goes on to say exactly what this buy-out means in terms of Epic Games software:

So, it seems like Fortnite is about to look even more visually sumptuous.

What Does the Takeover Mean for RAD?

Not a tremendous amount will actually change for RAD. It will still be able to continue supporting existing partners across media.

RAD will even still be able to maintain and issue new licenses to customers, whether or not they use Unreal Engine. Gracious of Epic Games, considering they now own the company and therefore, presumably, any money it makes…

Jeff Roberts, founder of RAD, remains suitably buoyant:

It makes sense, then, to continue this relationship and see what Epic Games can achieve, working much more closely with RAD, beyond what the two have already executed together.

Onwards and Upwards for Epic Games

Epic Games seems to go from strength-to-strength of late. With a string of high-profile buy-outs under its belt, and a relocation to swanky, converted-mall offices, not even legal wrangles with Apple could stop Epic in its tracks right now.