On July 28th, TQ Digital Entertainment announced on a press conference at ChinaJoy that it has obtained the right to use Unreal Engine 3, which indicates that TQ Digital is expected to present us a world class 3D online game in the near future.

¡°Currently, introducing advanced engine technology is a necessary step for us. The contents of domestically made games are not inferior to any foreign made epic titles. Why there is such a big gap? The key problem is technology. And 3D engine is a core technology. China lags behind foreign countries far more than one or two years in the field of engine technology, so to create our own title through purchasing a world class engine is the quickest way to cover the technology gap,¡± said Liu Luyuan, CEO of TQ Digital.

Since World of Warcraft launched in China, a large number of overseas games have flooded into China: Dungeons & Dragons Online, EVE Online, Hellgate: London, etc. But we haven¡¯t heard any news about the development of a top-notch Chinese domestically made 3D game which can rival any of them.

¡°TQ Digital has been working hard in the field of self-development game. In the last six years, we have successfully launched Monster & Me, Conquer Online, Era of Faith, Eudemons Online, etc. Our company boasts the largest number of self-development games in China,¡± said Mr. Liu. However, he also expressed his concerns, ¡°Chinese-made games have achieved fruitful results in the last couple of years, accounting for 60% market share in the Chinese gaming market. However, the market is changing constantly and 3D online games will become the mainstream game in the future. Currently, domestically made games cannot rival overseas 3D titles. We hope with Unreal Engine 3, we could develop a title which can rival World of Warcraft. In the long run, we hope the online game market will be dominated by domestically made games.¡±

When being approached for the detailed development plan with Unreal Engine 3, Mr. Liu revealed that, the project based on Unreal Engine 3 has kicked off. It is expected to hit the market in 2007.

About Unreal Engine 3 
UE3 is Epic?s next-generation technology, intended for games shipping on next-generation consoles and PCs. Multiple UE3-powered games are currently in development at Epic and by our licensees, targeting a diverse set of genres from fighting games to MMPOGs to shooters. Recently, Epic announced that it will be using Unreal Engine 3 in upcoming titles Unreal Tournament 2007 and Gears of War.

About TQ Digital
TQ Digital Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of NetDragon Websoft Inc., is one of the leading developers and publishers of online games. The company develops and publishes its products in two main areas: Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG), and casual games.
The company¡¯s current MMOG titles include: ¡°Conquer Online¡±, ¡°Monster & Me¡±, and ¡°Era of Faith¡±, all of which have been published both in China and the United States. The company is current working on several upcoming MMOG titles including: Realm of Magic, an action based online game, Zero, a sci-fi based MMOG featuring online robot wars, Farms Online, a cartoon-styled MMOG featuring farming lives, and Heroes of Might and Magic Online, a joint development project with Ubisoft based on the famous PC game with the same name. In the casual gaming space, the company has developed a gaming platform, www.91.com with over 20 casual online games.

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Editor wakaka