Although game engines are essentially just software that creates a framework for a game, without them, there would be no Half-Life for you to shoot in, no Street Fighter for you to punch in, and no FIFA for you to kick in. Simply put, this is what has helped countless game developers realize their dreams, as well as those of gamers.
In this article, I will introduce you to the top 9 most important game engines of all time. See how many engines you can count that you know.
Unreal Engine
In 1995, Tim Sweeney began creating an engine to produce a game that would compete with Quake and Doom, two famous FPS games of that time. But he did not expect that this engine would change the fate of the entire Epic Games company.
Although the game Unreal is also a lifetime masterpiece, it is the engine that created it that sparked a revolution. By the late 1990s, nearly 20 games were using Unreal Engine. In the following two decades, this number increased to a level that is difficult to count accurately. In 2014, Unreal Engine was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most successful game engine in the world, with 408 games using this engine.
Some famous games created using Unreal Engine include Deus Ex, BioShock, Borderlands, Street Fighter V, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and of course, Fortnite – the battle royale game that is making waves in the market today.
Source
At the end of the Half-Life development phase, Valve decided to abandon the Quake engine to create its own engine.
Counter-Strike: Source was the first game to use this engine, but it wasn’t until Half-Life 2, with its realistic graphics and physics effects, that the Source engine truly “shined”. However, Valve remains the main game company using this engine. Although this is not the primary means of making money for Gabe Newell (Gaben), it remains available for anyone who needs it to… use.
Games created by Valve with the Source engine include Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal 1 & 2, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, CS:GO. Additionally, there are other games using this engine such as Black Mesa, Titanfall 1 & 2, and recently the famous battle royale game Apex Legends.
Unity
This is the top choice for indie developers with limited budgets. Unity was introduced by GooBall in 2005, but it wasn’t until five years later, with the release of Thomas Was Alone and a series of popular mobile games, that Unity truly gained widespread attention.
By around 2015, Unity became one of the most popular game engines in the world. Many developers trust Unity because it is easy to use, versatile, and especially very affordable, starting from 0 VND.
Games using this engine include Temple Run 1 & 2, The Room, Pokémon Go, Cuphead, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy.
id Tech
This engine debuted with the game Doom in 1993, and after six upgrades, it continues to be the backbone of many subsequent FPS games.
A decade ago, id Tech wasn’t really “hot” at all. But when the parent company of id Software, ZeniMax, monopolized this engine, allowing only its affiliated studios to use it, it truly “blossomed” under the craftsmanship of MachineGames (the Wolfenstein series) and Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within).
Games utilizing this engine include: Doom (1993), Quake (1996), Call of Duty (2003), Wolfenstein (2009), The Evil Within (2014), Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (2017), Doom Eternal (2020).
CryEngine
CryEngine is not a very “developer-friendly” game engine, and it is not well-optimized either. Perhaps that’s why not many developers are keen on this engine, although its graphical quality is hard to debate.
However, these factors didn’t matter when Crytek released the game Far Cry in 2004, redefining what a “PC game benchmark” is. And in 2007, they did it again with the game Crysis. The golden age of CryEngine has passed, but it created a shockwave that still resonates today.
You may not know, but the later Far Cry series was built on the Dunia engine – a game engine that was largely modified from CryEngine.
Games using this engine include Far Cry (2004), Crysis (2007), Crysis Warhead (2008), Crysis 2 (2011), Crysis 3 (2013), Warface (2013), Prey (2017).
Dark Engine
Typically, the measure of the quality of a game engine lies in its graphical quality, but Dark Engine is famous for a different factor (although its graphics are no slouch).
Thief: The Dark Project, Thief II: The Metal Age, and System Shock 2 are pioneering titles in the stealth action genre because the enemies in the game are smarter than fifth graders, and the sound design is meticulously crafted, enhancing the tension in the game every time players prepare for a stealth kill from behind.
Games using Dark Engine include Thief: The Dark Project (1998), Thief II: The Metal Age (2000), and System Shock 2 (1999).
Havok Physics/Destruction
Havok is a slightly different kind of game engine because if you only use this engine, you cannot complete a game. Instead, Havok is more accurately a tool for creating stunning effects in games, such as explosions, bullets hitting skulls, collapsing buildings, and a host of other effects you typically see in Michael Bay’s movies. Simply put, if you see an impressive physics effect, it’s likely thanks to Havok.
Although it had a humble start, gradually over 600 games have used this engine, notably the Just Cause series with its very “Hollywood” explosion effects. Other games include Rage 2 (2019), Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019), Assassin’s Creed Origins (2018), Monster Hunter: World (2018), Destiny 2 (2017), Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), Dark Souls III (2016).
Frostbite
It took Electronic Arts a while to realize the importance of this game engine. Developed by DICE and first introduced in 2008 with the game Battlefield: Bad Company, Frostbite quickly became “widespread” and applied to other game series such as FIFA, Need for Speed, with the pinnacle being two famous RPG titles from BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
Many studios have collaborated to improve this engine, making it more versatile, efficient, and… user-friendly. Games using Frostbite include Anthem (2019), Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017), Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014), and recent versions of FIFA, Battlefield, and Need for Speed.
Infinity Engine
This is the game engine behind legendary titles like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. The Infinity Engine laid the groundwork for the Classical Role-Playing Game genre and created a golden age for PC gamers. Very few game engines have had such a significant impact on an entire generation of gamers like the Infinity Engine.
Although this engine is “aged”, it was reused in the game Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear in 2016 after 14 years of absence. Truly, the older, the spicier!
Games created by this engine include the Baldur’s Gate series, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.
Source: PCGamesN, edited by Gearvn