Evolution of Unreal Engine 3 Games 2006-2020

Evolution of Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) Games from 2006 to 2020. Games Developed using a version of the third generation Unreal engine (original or modified) by Epic Games, Inc. It was designed specifically for DirectX 9 games (Windows) and seventh-generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3). The renderer supports many advanced techniques including HDR, per-pixel lighting, and dynamic shadows, and builds upon the tools available in previous versions of the engine. The Karma physics engine of the previous version has been dropped in favour of PhysX from AGEIA and FaceFX is included to generate facial animations.
#unrealengine #ue3 #gameengine #epicgames
Unreal Engine 3:
Gears of War
RoboBlitz November 7, 2006
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia
Hour of Victory
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Stranglehold
Fatal Inertia
BlackSite: Area 51
Unreal Tournament III
Mass Effect
Undertow
Warmonger: Operation - Downtown Destruction
Lost Odyssey
Turok
Frontlines: Fuel of War
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Army of Two
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
Hail to the Chimp
American McGee's Grimm: The Singing Bone
Too Human
TNA iMPACT!
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars
Tom Clancy's EndWar
Gears of War 2
Mirror's Edge
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
The Last Remnant
Rise of the Argonauts
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Wheelman March 24, 2009
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Damnation
CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
America's Army 3
The Punisher: No Mercy
Fat Princess
Shadow Complex
CrimeCraft
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Section 8
Adam's Venture: Episode 1 - The Search for the Lost Garden
Borderlands
Fairytale Fights
Planet 51: The Game
Alien Breed Evolution
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Dark Void
Mass Effect 2
Global Agenda
Stargate: Resistance
The Scourge Project: Episodes 1 and 2
Alpha Protocol
Mortal Online
Transformers: War for Cybertron
Singularity
APB: All Points Bulletin
Moonbase Alpha
Blacklight: Tango Down
Monday Night Combat
Epic Citadel
Alien Breed 2: Assault
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes Del Ring
Medal of Honor
Saw II: Flesh & Blood
The Ball
Kinect Adventures!
Alien Breed 3: Descent
TRON: Evolution
Infinity Blade
Dungeon Defenders
DC Universe Online
TERA
Bulletstorm
Homefront
Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot
WWE All Stars
Section 8: Prejudice
Sanctum
Mortal Kombat 2011
Thor: God of Thunder
Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
Hunted: The Demon's Forge
Dream:scape June 9, 2011
Alice: Madness Returns
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Shadows of the Damned
Dead Block
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Gears of War 3
X-Men: Destiny
The Dark Meadow
Batman: Arkham City
The Haunted: Hell's Reach
Global Ops: Commando Libya
Afterfall: InSanity
Infinity Blade II
Q.U.B.E.
All Zombies Must Die!
Warp
Mass Effect 3
Silent Hill: Downpour
Bloodforge
Game of Thrones
Sorcery
Lollipop Chainsaw
Quantum Conundrum
Spec Ops: The Line
Blacklight: Retribution
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD
Deadlight
Unmechanical
Papo & Yo
Horn
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Wild Blood
The Five Cores
Borderlands 2
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Dishonored
Fable: The Journey
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Ravaged
Primal Carnage
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation
ARC Squadron: Redux
Real Boxing
DmC: Devil May Cry
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Gears of War: Judgment
BioShock Infinite
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge
Zeno Clash II
Sanctum 2
Remember Me
Marvel Heroes
Ride to Hell: Retribution
Deadpool
Scourge: Outbreak
Rise of the Triad
Killer Is Dead
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
Flashback
Lost Planet 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Outlast
Infinity Blade III
Takedown: Red Sabre
XCOM: Enemy Within
Tiny Brains
Deadfall Adventures
Contrast
Crimson Dragon
Thief
Betrayer
Goat Simulator
Murdered: Soul Suspect
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Crimes & Punishments: Sherlock Holmes
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
Life Is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis
Mortal Kombat X
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
Dirty Bomb
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocket League
King's Quest
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
Might & Magic: Heroes VII
Shadow Complex: Remastered
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
Bombshell
XCOM 2
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
Mighty No. 9
Killing Floor 2
Orcs Must Die!: Unchained
Outlast 2
Injustice 2
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
Paladins: Champions of the Realm
Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced
XCOM: Chimera Squad

[@ArthurLopes39]

I like the eerie, gritty look from this generation. Not all games should have it, obviously, but it does fit when the art direction asks for it. The first Gears of War pulls it off the best, DmC looks neat, too. Mirror's Edge, Remember Me, and Arkham Knight still look incredible, and I'm surprised TERA works at all since UE3 was never meant for MMOs.

[@marco1941]

That’s what I hate about it. 😂

[@Carlosarts2]

Netherrealm confirmed that Mortal Kombat 11 work in Unreal Engine 3

[@PhatNguyen-cu2bx]

And now we have UE5 but MK1 just using UE4 :D

[@arctik2928]

The earlier half of Unreal Engine 3 had games looking so eerily similar. It must be the effects, and especially the colour palette if they used the same one (default, I believe).

[@geeknproud321]

Most engines have a library of pre-made effects. When an engine is new it's common that devs aren't familiar enough to add their own effects and custom assets so the default ones get used. Compare the Unreal Tournament 3 to Gears of War for example.

[@pczone7641]

because many developers used the the default post processing setting and default materials

[@steveman0420]

Many devs uses UE assets , preferably premade or marketplace assets , and that damn bloom effects

[@ianmitchell5979]

I have trouble believing that both Outlast games and Arkham's Knight was in UE3

[@KambingGaming531]

It's not about the Engine but the Creators of the game is creative and brilliant

[@urazsoktay5275]

The best looking Unreal Engine 3 game is Batman Arkham Knight.

[@urazoktay7940]

Amazing video, very good compilation, i throughly enjoyed it, thank you.

[@Raoskje]

Amazing video, however running/recording UE3 games with such low FPS might give an impression that the engine was not as good as it really was.

[@yeungscs]

haha, I think the marketing materials and footage available in those days were just 30 fps!

[@writtergab2976]

I know it's been two years since this comment, but, i believe that the low FPS in some titles may be the emulation of then...

[@Raoskje]

@@writtergab2976 I don't know what happened, but I was checking again the this video, and it doesn't look 30fps-ish as back in the day. Really bizarre, it looks just fine now

[@borjie2727]

I remember Unreal tournament, Killing Floor, Bioshock and lots of other games looked very very similar

[@digimikeh]

Nice demos.!! I think Mirror's Edge is UE3 too..

[@ikebrasil]

Top Bro 🏆

[@GameForestGF]

Thanks a lot👍

[@greysky1252]

I dont get how Unreal 2 and Unreal Tournament 3 didn't lead the charge with thier new engines...they were supposed to be the standard bearers. Unreal 2 was handed off to a 3rd party developer and, despite having some of the best graphics (ill never forget that initial in development benchmark demo they ran) UT3 had less features and gameplay modes than UT2004.

[@alexarmstrong9915]

And this is why UT3 is 50% of game that we deserve

[@Raoskje]

UE3 was much, much heavier than the one used in UT 2003 or 2004, to the point I though an open world game was impossible using UE3, however Tera and other games were released. The fact is that even the most "open world" games using the engine have lots of narrow environments, as to sustain a high framerate. It's still a very capable engine, found in games such as Paladins and Killing Floor 2, but it's sad how Unreal 3 didn't catch the community as the previous installments... as UT4, UT3 had some fan base as myself, that got to play the game for quite a while, but in the developers side, it got kind of ignored by the community. And as you said, less game modes, less things to do in the game.

[@joeyoung9596]

@@Raoskje Even the latest games in 2023 like Renegade X & Renegade X: Firestorm struggles to maintain a good framerate and performance optimization. Although it's running on the UDK, it can't maintain huge battles with too many effects and structures on multiplayer. Much like what happened to Tom Clancy's Endwar & Xcom 2 that runs on the main Unreal Engine 3. On the other hand, Unreal Engine 3 did have some unique games, like Bioshock Infinite, Infinity Blade, Xcom Enemy Unknown, and etc. The textures wasn't that great, plus 99% of games of that era uses the same textures, some uses the sound, effects, and even same character model sizes which are based on Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3.

[@3rdStreetAVolitionite]

An underrated Unreal engine 3 title that I have a soft spot for is Fairytale Fights. I don't know anyone else who also knows about that game, but for a game with such simple gameplay, I like it a lot. All you did was move, your character with left stick, attack with right stick, and jump with A/X. It was only on PS3 and Xbox 360, no PC release. The game was made by PlayLogic, who went out of business after making this game. I got it when it released for my birthday, at age 13 in 2010. So much bloody and gory cartoony fun about Fairytale characters against lumberjacks, wolves, gingerbread men, knights, and so much more. Including popular characters from many different actual fairytales. Edit: Which I didn't think would be mentioned in this video at the time of commenting, but it IS here. :)

[@urazsoktay5275]

You should add Gears of War Ultimate Edition. It's a great remaster, nearly a remake of the first Gears of War. Otherwise great video.

[@evo2500]

this engine is honestly so much fun

[@MostWantedChannel]

Did this video actually list everyone made in Unreal 3? Curiosity indeed. I wanted this information from everyone.

[@MrKavkaz2012]

Ничего себе подборка! Автор проделал титаническую работу. Подписался на канал, редко такие встретишь на ютубе

[@sassyMcpussy]

ну да...

[@DustinsCarFamily]

Didn't Dead Space use Unreal Engine 3 too? And I believe Outlast also came out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but I guess I'm wrong.

[@arctik2928]

No, Dead Space did not use it. It was an internal engine that Visceral (EA Redwood Shores back then) used in a Tiger Woods game before Dead Space.

[@Demongargoyle]

Smite? Not UE3?

[@notaflyy]

vanishing of Ethan Carter blew me away with the photogrammetry. too bad it just limits artstyle heavily

[@ernestomamani1610]

Mortal kombat 11 is unreal engine 3

[@EmoGoddessNea]

Is unreal engine 4 hahaha

[@EyefyourGf]

@@EmoGoddessNea It's unreal engine 3 dumbass hahahahah,it even says on a wiki hahahahah!

[@loop5720]

How is it on the UE3? Holy crap the Engine is good

[@kloakovalimonada]

@@loop5720 that's kinda insane, it's a 16 year old engine

[@tyoyusuf8501]

@@loop5720 science programming

[@marco1941]

Borderlands? I never knew that, crazy.

[@MrKavkaz2012]

А вы не в курсе, игры на Unreal Engine 3 все совместимы с DirectX10 и будут работать на GTX280?

[@PavluxXxa]

господи, где ты этот артефакт откопал?

[@valy0o728]

Get Even is missing

[@allancandaza]

Its unreal engine 4 you dummy hahahaha

[@abcdoooabcd]

enslaved looks great

[@therealmodernwalking9695]

lol, didnt even know that someone is still using ue3 now..

[@marco1941]

Okay, so it was good at that time, but we’ve been seeing that engine for way too long.

[@chantellethecool1]

You forgot the black eyed peas experience on the xbox 360

[@UtimateGearsPlayer]

I will someday like to create a video game like gears of war 3 ❤

[@GameForestGF]

Best of luck 🤞

[@pauls4522]

This engine was a plaque. Started seeing it in 2006 when it looked cutting edge and still looked good compared to other engines for a few years. But quickly it became the generic engine where every game looked a like. The engine I feel should have been retired around 2011, but we did get Bioshock Infinite and Dishonored in 2012 and 2013 respectively which had a unique art direction which too me are the 2 best looking games on the engine. Its grosses me out people still use it today and that most of the games look like hot garbage now being used as a discount engine anymore.

[@seigneurduquebec7337]

You're totaly right but I think Batman also really did great

[@d30n6]

Look at Mortal Kombat 11, that game is stunning running on UE3.

[@Sattlen]

@@d30n6 What about killing floor 2? It does use an heavily modified version of unreal engine 3 though.

[@adamfrisk956]

Arkham Knight

[@Maximus20778]

Cope and seeth Batman Arkham knight looks great

[@RoyBasty]

Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age II are missing.

[@Bruh-bi6yi]

how u gonna not include guilty gear, damn

[@doom2d]

don't forget Alien Rage - Unlimited

[@geeknproud321]

Rainbow Six Vegas was Unreal 2.5 not 3. It had infamously broken performance for the time and was basically Unreal 2 with some Unreal 3 assets and visual stuff hacked in. Blacksite Area 51 is a shame of a game. It had a promising start but the devs basically ran out of money and time. It was originally going to be a sequel to the old Area 51 Xbox game but became something more. I forget the entire story of its development but it was a serious botch job.

[@highflex370]

Nope Vegas uses really early UE3 that was actually not even considered to be shared with licensees at the point, the engine code originates from early 2005 and ubisoft had to write a lot on their own ( that might have been the contractual agreement ) this engine iteration is so early it does not have destructive cooking of packages, a lot of editor data is still kept in the game packages.

[@geeknproud321]

@@highflex370 That's interesting AF. I remember RS Vegas was known at the time for being really demanding and very poorly optimized for how it looked. It basically had near-Crysis requirements for visuals not much different from CoD4. The default FOV is also horrible but that's a design issue not an engine issue, lol. I first played it on an Athlon 64 X2 and a GeForce 7600GT at 30FPS! lol

[@highflex370]

@ good times, funny enough the FOV was stored in a config package, but sadly cramping it up creates visual bugs with the first person hands but the game was instantly like 3-4 times better to play. A shame there is no modern game like it, the cover aspect was not liked by many people but I personally think it’s a good blend with the tactical gameplay.

[@geeknproud321]

@ I find there is still quite a bit of room to increase the FOV without showing the clipping on the arms. So even if not perfect, better.

[@Javierdepp]

Desde gears 2 en pesaron a usar un real 3.5

[@defectivenull]

Life is strange is in UE4 though

[@nunosa528]

The first Life is Strange was done on UE3. If it was UE4, the PS3 and XBox 360 versions wouldn't exist.

[@SJTPlatinum]

Where’s the Arkham Series, Especially Arkham Knight?

[@Lord_Elron]

It’s in there

[@SJTPlatinum]

@@Lord_Elron oh nvm

[@gersonandresortizvelasco2349]

Yo digo medio de mi ignorancia unreal engine su mejores motores grafico

[@jonathantyner171]

Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: odst, Halo: Reach, Halo: combat evolved anniversary, and Halo 4 should have used Unreal Engine 3

[@YurievalEi]

Know the thing it actually SUCKS to play a Unreal engine 3 game in 1920x1200 so recommended to play a Unreal engine 3 game in 1366x768 for better experience!

[@writtergab2976]

I play Batman Arkham Knight in 800x600 or 1024x768, and still looks beautiful (no graphics card, i3 11th Generation). Much better than the recent port to Switch, at least...

[@magnus00125]

they paid so we can use ue for free now

[@rkjtnd]

>shoahstein

[@harrypewpew901]

Bloooooooooooooom