A speed deal: Epic Games acquires company focusing on compression tech

CARY – Fresh from picking a new site for a headquarters campus, Epic Games returned Thursday to its gaming business, acquiring a company that Epic says speeds up load times, quality and performance through “impressive” compression technology.

Becoming part of Epic is RAD Game Tools, and one of its many global customers is in fact Epic and its megahit Fortnite.

It’s the third acquisition made by Epic over the last three months.

“We know first-hand how impressive RAD’s compression technology is, having used it to improve the load time and quality of our most popular games – including Fortnite,” said Kim Libreri, chief technology officer at Epic. “The RAD team includes some of the world’s leading compression, video and game dev tooling experts, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Epic family.”

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

“In short, the plan is for RAD’s team and technology to work with the rendering, animation, insights, and audio teams for Unreal Engine to improve the systems and infrastructure that game developers use,” says news site Polygon.

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RAD Game Tools tech is already used in nearly 25,000 games, Epic noted. The company also works with film and television clients.

Epic through its own Unreal game engine, which is one of the industry’s most widely used, is constantly pushing for faster, more realistic graphics.

In November, Epic made another real to increase realistic animation, acquiring the technology of Hyprsense, which Epic described as a “leading developer of real-time facial animation technology.” Epic also bought SuperAwesome, a leader in “kidtech” development.

“[D]developers need best-in-class compression software that can manage increased data requirements without compromising quality. Members of the RAD team will partner closely with Epic’s rendering, animation, insights, and audio teams, integrating key tech and improvements across Unreal Engine and beyond,” Epic said. “RAD and Epic combining forces will allow even more developers access to tools that make their games load and download faster, and offer their players a better, higher quality video and gaming experience.”

Epic also said non-Unreal engine customers will continue to have access to RAD technology.