This days 3D engines are used to create a range of virtual experiences, including games and simulations, by providing capabilities such as 3D rendering, content authoring tools, animation, physics systems, and asset processing.
The Linux Foundation has announced a new project that 3D game developers will definitely be interested in. The project, called the Open3D Foundation, will start with the new Open 3D Engine (O3DE), an updated version of Amazon’s Lumberyard game engine.
The Open 3D Foundation will support open source projects that advance capabilities related to 3D graphics, rendering, authoring, and development. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is contributing an updated version of the Amazon Lumberyard game engine as the Open 3D Engine (O3DE), under the permissive Apache 2.0 license. The most significant factor is that the engine has been completely re-architected from the ground up as a modular system.
We’re proud to offer the 3D development community an unencumbered, AAA-capable, real-time 3D engine with one of the broadest arrays of integrated 3D authoring tools in the industry. We believe an open-source option will revolutionize real-time 3D development, as Linux did for operating systems and Apache did for the web.
Bill Vass, AWS VP of Engineering
In a press release, the Linux Foundation has more than 20 founding partners, including Adobe, Huawei, Niantic, and Red Hat. The purpose of the Open 3D engine is to enable developers and content creators to build 3D experiences without being disturbed by commercial terms. This new project will enable developers to collaborate on building games and simulations as well as the underlying engine.
So, this could be the start of something truly big for game development. It will definitely be interesting to see how this goes.
If you are interested in testing the new game engine, it is available on GitHub.
