Unreal Engine maker, Epic Games, has acquired Manchester’s Cubic Motion, for an undisclosed sum.
Cubic Motion specialises in facial animation technology, which has been used on a series of AAA titles, such as God of War (Sony) and Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac). It has previously worked with the US giant on projects including Meet Mike, Hellblade and Siren.
Epic said that the move would “solidify” its commitment “advancing the state of the art in the creation of believable digital humans for all Unreal Engine users.”
“Digital humans are not only the next frontier of content creation, but also the most complex endeavour in computer graphics,” explained Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games.
“With Cubic Motion bringing their computer vision and animation technology and expertise to our digital human efforts, Epic along with our team at 3Lateral are one step closer to democratising these capabilities for creators everywhere.”
Cubic Motion will work alongside its Serbia-based 3Lateral studio, which the company acquired in January last year.
“We are delighted to be joining Epic Games and look forward with excitement to this next chapter in our story,” added Cubic Motion CEO Dr. Gareth Edwards.
“Together, we are uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of digital human technology, bringing ever more realism and immersion to all forms of visual entertainment.”
