Sweeney believes a whole new generation of game developers will emerge with this newly accessible UDK technology.

"When I started developing games 18 years ago, game development was very simple," said Sweeney. "You had such little graphics capabilities that you write a few lines of code and you get some objects moving around on screen and it was very easy. That's really changed nowadays. Today, a competitive game requires a million lines of code, many years to create, and a very, very sophisticated set of tools. The great thing about UDK is that it brings all those tools to you, so you don't need to do any of that work yourself. It makes game development as easy as it was a couple of decades ago when one person just fooled around in their spare time. And you can actually create an interesting game experience. It might not be Gears of War quality, but it can certainly be something to be proud of and something you could release online and get your friends playing -- all with one tool set and all with a relatively easy learning curve."

Cliff Bleszinski, design director at Epic Games, said that the fact that Epic's releasing UDK for free online is going to crack everything wide open in regards to everyone from college students to amateur developers to mod makers.

"You very, very rarely see this kind of opportunity where you have a professional tested tool that has shipped hit games that have sold millions upon millions of copies that you can just download and start messing around with immediately," said Bleszinski. "I can tell you right now that the engine is used so much in the business that if you're a person who has Unreal Engine skills, that would be a plus on your resume. And the fact that it's more accessible than ever will facilitate creativity and will create more cool independent games. I think it will also help people get jobs in the industry."
UDK should also open up the gaming mod community. Many of Unreal Tournament 3's mods have been showcased through the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest (www.makesomethingunreal.com), which awards over $1 million in cash and prizes to aspiring game developers. While mods require running the original game for interaction with user-created content, UDK provides a standalone experience every time, meaning a smaller digital footprint and no additional software requirements.

"If UDK were available to me back when I was a teenager, I would have downloaded it immediately," said Bleszinski. "I would not have left my house for months on end and I would have started creating my own world. I would have started building my own environments. I would even have got placeholder characters and things like that until I found somebody to put things in. I would have made something tangible that is an interactive space, and I would have burst into the industry somehow by any means necessary."

With UDK, aspiring game makers, hobbyists and students can dig into the tools that have been used to bring such hits as BioShock, Mass Effect and Batman: Arkham Asylum to life. What's next is now in the hands of anyone with an Internet connection.
Download Unreal Development Kit (562 MB)
Download HD Unreal Development Kit Launch Trailer (80 MB)