Epic Games has announced a new strategic partnership with Autodesk. The two companies joined forces to accelerate real-time 3D content creation across several industries.
The goal of this collaboration is to accelerate “immersive real-time experiences across industries, starting with architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC),” Epic Games said in the announcement.
According to the company’s VP of Unreal Engine Ecosystem Marc Petit, the partnership will give creators more opportunities to innovate.
“By tapping into Epic’s ecosystem of real-time 3D tools and libraries, creatives can spend more time bringing their designs to life and less time stumbling over complex data and technical workflows,” he said.
How will creators benefit from this partnership?
- Epic gave Autodesk Revit subscribers free access to its Twinmotion tool. Revit is a solution for designing and building infrastructure projects, while Twinmotion helps create real-time visualizations for different consumer products.
- The companies want to make it easier for creators to produce content across design, entertainment, and manufacturing.
- Epic Games and Autodesk also plan to expand their collaboration efforts in other industries. Details remain undisclosed, but the new steps in this partnership might include some solutions for game developers.
History of relationship between Epic and Autodesk
- Founded in 1982, Autodesk has become one of the leading software companies in architecture, construction, engineering, and entertainment. It owns products like AutoCAD and Revit, as well as 3ds Max and Maya 3D animation software.
- The companies first teamed up in 2008 when Autodesk joined Epic’s Integrated Partners Program. It led to the integration of Autodesk 3D software with Unreal Engine.
- Last year, the companies allowed creators to stream data from Maya to Unreal in real time by offering an Unreal Live Link for Maya plugin.