John Gaudiosi

Facebook’s recent acquisition of virtual reality firm Oculus for some $2 billion could accelerate VR use, especially in gaming. And Epic Games of Cary has been working with Oculus, preparing to cash in on the opportunity. In an exclusive interview, WRALTechWire Insider John Gaudiosi talked with Epic GM Ray Davis at the Game Developers Conference last week in San Francisco about the Epic-Oculus partnership as Epic rolls out its cutting-edge Unreal 4 game engine technology. One of the big themes here at GDC is virtual reality. Can you talk about how Unreal has been designed to work with Oculus? I’m...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – As Epic Games held its annual press conference at the 2014 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week,, Tim Sweeny, founder and CEO of the Cary-based game studio, revealed a brand new business model for the company’s Unreal Engine 4 technology. Game developers big and small, as well as everyday people, will now be able to get full access to the very same technology the studio uses to develop new games like Fortnite by paying $19 per month. This subscription model can be used to make games for PC, iOS and Android devices. Epic...

Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova aren’t names you likely know from the video game development community, but the odds are pretty good that you’ve played their Temple Run game. The husband-and-wife team moved Imangi Studios to the Triangle and immediately become one of the most successful game studios in the area, right up there with Epic Games and Insomniac Games. Temple Run, which is free to play on Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices, has been downloaded more than 170 million times across. It’s even been turned into an arcade game. Shepherd talks about the game franchise and explains...

Cliff Bleszinski Discusses His New Restaurant, The Station at Person Street It’s been over a year since former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski ventured out on his own. While he is working on a new game, Bleszinski’s first local investment is the new restaurant, The Station at Person Street. Located at 701 North Person Street in Raleigh near the historic Oakwood neighborhood, the former Amoco gas station dating back to 1910 has been transformed into a local bar and pub. A large majority of the establishment’s 3,400 square foot space is outdoors with a covered bar that offers...

NVIDIA showed a packed ballroom at The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas its next generation mobile chip, the Tegra K1. Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA, used Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 to demonstrate the power of the new 192-core super chip. Epic Games made a pair of Unreal Engine 4 tech demos that were featured on the movie theater-sized screen on stage in high definition. Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 technology was used last year to showcase a real-time 3D model of the Tegra 4 Shield portable gaming system, which has a library of Unreal Engine 3 games....

Tragedy has turned into a nationwide effort to help an aspiring video game developer. Ana Kessel, 20, was the victim of a hit-and-run accident on Nov. 11 in Raleigh, losing her leg in the accident. The intern at Insomniac Games’ North Carolina Studio (located in Durham), who was worked as a graphics artist on “Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus,” had no insurance. When news of her accident spread across social networks, local and far-reaching game studios stepped in to help. Epic Games raised $3,000 for Ana by auctioned signed Gears of War memorabilia on eBay. A replica original...

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories that will focus on the latest developments in the Triangle’s video game industry. Reports will be written by WRALTechWire Insider columnist John Gauidosi. CARY, N.C. – While Epic Games doesn’t have any titles for the record-setting launches of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles, the award-winning studio for both games and game engine technology is working on new unannounced games for “next gen.” But thanks to its Unreal Engine 4 technology, Epic Games will have a hand in multiple games in development from other publishers for both...

For the third year in a row, a new Ratchet & Clank game is coming exclusively to PlayStation 3 from Insomniac Games’ North Carolina studio. The Durham-based game developer, a subsidiary of the main Burbank, Calif. hub, will release “Ratchet & Clank Future: Into the Nexus” on March 12 for $30 through Sony. Gamers will also get a free download code for the 2008 game, “Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty.” Chad Dezern, the studio head in North Carolina, talks about what’s in store for fans in this exclusive interview. How does the North Carolina studio collaborate with the...

Editor’s note: Gamers from around the world will be gathering in Durham this weekend for the Escapist Expo. And Cliff Bleszinski, certainly one of the better known thought leaders in the gaming industry after his years as the creative leader behind franchises such as “Gears of War” and “Unreal” at Epic Games, will participate. The Escapist expects more than 7,000 people to play games, hunt zombies, dance – and just have lots of fun. WRALTechWire gaming Insider John Gaudiosi offers a sneak preview of what Bleszinski will be talking about. DURHAM, N.C. - The former design director at Epic Games...