Epic Games today announced the licensing of IDV's SpeedTree RT for Unreal Tournament 3. The foliage technology and tree editor is already part of the Integrated Partners Program for Unreal Engine 3. Epic's proprietary engine technology, which it is using on Unreal Tournament 3, has been integrated thoroughly with SpeedTree.

"The integration of SpeedTreeRT with our engine brings the best of two leading edge technologies to Unreal Tournament 3," said Mark Rein, vice president, Epic Games. "Outstanding gameplay in amazing environments will blow players away. For the first time in any game featuring SpeedTree, Unreal Tournament 3 is going to let players use the professional tree-editing features of the SpeedTree system to create and edit foliage in the worlds they develop. Content creators will enjoy an unprecedented degree of freedom and as they build fantastic new worlds."

"SpeedTree is the undisputed leader in virtual foliage, and its superb presentation in Unreal Tournament 3 will set a new standard in the way games should look and feel," noted IDV CEO Chris King. "Unreal Tournament 3 is going to be an incredible experience, and we are unbelievably proud to get to be part of it."