Philip Muwanga, lead software developer at C4X Discovery, using 4Sight software made with the Unreal Engine, which powers Fortnite. U.K.-based C4X uses gaming engines to discover molecules that help fight diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ulcerative colitis. Photo: C4X Discovery By Agam Shah June 13, 2019 5:30 a.m. ET
When combined with virtual-reality headsets, gaming engines let designers and engineers create products, visualize elaborate designs and even build employee training programs. For some, playing with virtual objects is a more fun and engaging way to get a job done than using a keyboard, a mouse and two-dimensional screens.
About 1,000 PC games, 200 console games and more than 20,000 mobile games have been made with gaming engines, said Michael Pachter, managing director for equity research at Wedbush Securities Inc. To license the engines for use in another videogame, companies typically charge $50,000 to $250,000 per game, or take a cut of sales, he said.
Designers at McLaren Automotive, a division of U.K.-based McLaren Group, have been using the Unreal Engine for more than a year to create, evaluate and fine-tune digital car models. The process now takes hours or days, a switch from using drawings and modeling clay, which sometimes took a month. McLaren Automotive also uses tools from companies including Autodesk Inc. for designs and calculations.
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