Footage thanks to:
• THEBaratusII – “Prototypes – Unreal 1995 Tech Demo – ERIC.UNR” (https://youtu.be/3GoYdg0lYYc)
• Sveriges television – “Dreamhack 1999”
• Epic MegaGames – Unreal 1997 Trailer
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5UTIe3UCYY)
• Mika Tuomi – Making of Second Reality / Future Crew
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIIBRr31DIU)
• Epic – Unreal Tournament September Community Event (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypBzcJ8zJtE)
• G4TV – Tim Sweeney. Gears of War 2: Dark Corners Interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxVUaqTFuEg)
• Cliffy B talking about Gears Of War (G4TV 2006)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8vQuLvIRMk)
• Intel Pentium MMX (1997) TV ad – Play That Funky Music (TV spot 1).mp4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zyjSBSvqPc)
• Game Invasion – Tim Sweeney, Mark Rein – Epic Game Interview, 2008
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNc-j4Kzi8k)
• Unreal XMP2 Footage – UnleashedFPS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z4W6LNNoD8)

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Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake. These seminal games rest at the forefront of the first-person shooter genre. All were instrumental to the genre’s birth and subsequent growth in one way or another. Although, there does exist one title of consequence that too often goes without mention—Epic’s Unreal.

In recent years, Unreal has exclusively been associated with the game engine of the same name. As such, its roots are either forgotten or wholly unknown to younger generations of gamers. But long before Epic began showcasing demos of its graphics engines on console hardware, the studio’s original group of staffers dreamt of creating the premier PC gaming engine and FPS experience. The crew achieved this and more upon unleashing Unreal and the Unreal Engine in 1998.

Unreal began as a serviceable shooter powered by inventive technology, but held back by lackluster network offerings. A spinoff in the form of Unreal Tournament saw the series blossom into a tour de force competitive shooter, whose DNA remains scattered across modernity’s popular multiplayer adventures. And yet there were instances where it appeared Epic had lost track of Unreal’s roots, as the series lapsed into a ghost of its former self that followed the herd instead of leading as destined.

This is the rise and fall of Unreal.

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