Epic Games, Inc.

Epic Games is a company started as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991 by Tim Sweeney in Rockville, Maryland (US). The same year the name was changed to Epic MegaGames, Inc. and the company became a world leader in developing and publishing shareware games. Epic's best-known creations include Epic Pinball, Jazz Jackrabbit, One Must Fall 2097 and Jill of the Jungle.

The biggest change for the company came in 1998 when the first-person shooter Unreal was released. It was the start of the Unreal series of shooters that ran until 2017. At the same time, the company started licensing the engine powering the games, various iterations of the Unreal Engine, used in a large range of titles. It put the company on the map next to id Software, Inc. as one of the most prominent engine development studios. In 1999, the studio received its current name, Epic Games, Inc.

In September 2006, the establishment of Epic Games China, Ltd. was announced. Based in Shanghai, it was set up to provide low-cost game asset outsourcing to both Epic and third parties. The studio currently goes by the name Yingpei Games.

In June 2012, the China-based Tencent Holdings Limited announced to have acquired a minority stake of 10% in the company. In September 2012 the establishment of a new Epic studio in Seattle was announced to work on the fourth version of the Unreal Engine.

Also in June 2012, the studio formed Epic Baltimore, later renamed Impossible Studios. The division was closed in February 2013.

The company released Fortnite in July 2017. After it became a cultural phenomenon, development of other games such as the Unreal Tournament reboot was abandoned, with all teams working on Fortnite, Unreal Engine or other services for external companies. On 6 December 2018, the company released the Epic Games Store as a competitor to other PC game storefronts.

Developed engines

• Unreal Engine 1
• Unreal Engine 2 / 2.5 / 2X
• Unreal Engine 3
• Unreal Engine 4
• Unreal Engine 5

Known subsidiaries

Names in italics used to be subsidiaries, but no longer are as they were closed or sold off.

• Epic Games UK (founded in 1993)
• Safari Software (acquired in 1997)
• Epic Games China (founded in 2006 - separated in 2012 as Yingpei Games)
• ChAIREntertainment Group (acquired in 2008)
• Darkstar Industries (acquired in 2008 - renamed to Titan Studios - closed in 2011)
• Epic Games Korea (founded in 2009)
• Epic Games Japan (founded in 2010)
• People Can Fly (acquired in 2012 - spun off in 2015)
• Epic Games Seattle (founded in 2012)
• Epic Games San Francisco (founded in 2012)
• Epic Games Baltimore (founded in 2012 - renamed to Impossible Studios - closed in 2013)
• Life on Air (acquired in 2012)
• Agog Labs (acquired in 2013)
• SuperAwesome (acquired in 2013 - spun off in 2020)
• Pitbull Studio (acquired in 2014 - absorbed into Epic Games UK)
• Epic Games Australia (founded in 2018)
• Epic Games Montreal (founded in 2018)
• Hyprsense (acquired in 2015)
• Epic Games Stockholm (founded in 2018)
• Cloudgine (acquired in 2018)
• 3Lateral (acquired in 2019)
• Kamu (acquired in 2018)
• Psyonix (acquired in 2019)
• Quixel (acquired in 2019)
• Cubic Motion (acquired in 2020)
• Hypersense (acquired in 2020)
• Epic Games Publishing (founded in 2020)
• RAD Game Tools (acquired in 2021, renamed to Epic Games Tools)
• Capturing Reality (acquired in 2021)
• Sketchfab (acquired in 2021)
• ArtStation (acquired in 2021)
• Harmonix Music Systems (acquired in 2021)
• Mediatonic (UK) (acquired in 2021)
  • Mediatonic (Spain) (acquired in 2021)
• Bandcamp (acquired in 2022 - sold to Songtradr in 2023)
• Aquiris Game Studio (acquired in 2023, renamed to Epic Games Brasil)