CARYEpic Games is looking to get real, at least as far as its graphics are concerned.

The Cary-based firm today announced that it has acquired  Quixel, creator of one of the world’s largest photogrammetry asset libraries. It’s all part of its strategy to usher in a new era in gaming with more “life-like” visuals.

For the record, photogrammetry is the science of making measurements from photographs. The input to photogrammetry is photographs, and the output is typically a map, a drawing, a measurement, or a 3D model of some real-world object or scene.

“Building photorealistic 3D content is an expensive endeavor in game development and film production. By coming together with Quixel to make Megascans free for all use in Unreal Engine, this level of artistry is now available to everyone from triple-A studios to indies,” said Epic Games Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, in a statement.

Founded in 2011, Quixel is based in Sweden. Its 100 employees across six countries worldwide will now join Epic Game’s payroll.

Quixel’s products include Megascans, an extensive library of 2D and 3D photogrammetry assets, supported by companion applications Bridge and Mixer.

Around the world, leading game developers, filmmakers, and visualization specialists use Quixel Megascans assets to craft blockbuster games (Metro Exodus, Destiny 2, Battlefield V), animated entertainment (The Jungle Book, Black Panther, The Lion King, Pacific Rim: Uprising), and lifelike scenes through high-quality content and access to a vast array of tools.

Shown earlier this year at Game Developers Conference 2019’s State of Unreal, Quixel revealed the Rebirth short film, created using Megascans and Unreal Engine 4, to demonstrate how a small team can create photorealistic visuals in real time.

Since then, the Rebirth assets have been brought over into a virtual production demonstration to show in-camera VFX using Unreal Engine and LED wall displays in filmmaking.

“Our mission at Quixel has always been to make the world more accessible for everyone through ultra-high resolution scanning. As part of Epic Games, we’re now able to accelerate this vision as we grow the Megascans library, speed up the development of Bridge and Mixer, and improve integrations with all major 3D software and renderers,” added Quixel Co-founder Teddy Bergsman, in a statement.

Epic Games has made several acquisitions in recent months. In June, it acquired synchronous social platform Houseparty, which touts itself as the “face to face social network.” A month earlier, it also added Psyonix, creators of the popular esports title Rocket League, to its growing portfolio.

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