Sony has updated to its official "NGP Tools & Middleware Developers" website, indicating that Crytek’s CryEngine technology ranks among the game engines compatible with its upcoming next-generation portable.
The following game engines provide numerous NGP developers with cheaper, simpler solutions for game development than creating an engine from scratch (this list is current as of February 20, 2011 — it will likely expand in the future):
Game Engines:
Blitz Games’ BlitzTech
Crytek’s CryEngine
Epic Games’ Unreal Engine
Terminal Reality’s Infernal Engine
Trinigy’s Vision Engine
Vicious Cycle’s Vicious Engine
Physics/AI/Animation:
Havok
NaturalMotion
Audio:
Audiokinetic
CRI Middleware
Firelight Technologies
RAD Game Tools
User Interface:
AiLive
Scaleform
The recent support from Crytek makes Sony’s NGP game engine support look more substantial than the original PlayStation 3 engine line-up. Clearly Sony is committed to the success of its new portable device.
Here is a tech demo of the CryEngine 3, which is designed for multi-platform development (this is not NGP gameplay, just a visual concept):
Personally, I’m falling in love with NaturalMotion’s Euphoria/Morpheme engines. Euphoria helped provide much of Red Dead Redemption’s replay value, while I believe Backbreaker shows invested potential in carving out its own niche in the football market (more so than Blitz or NFL Street/Tour).
If you had to choose, which game engine do you think holds most potential for game development on Sony’s NGP? A huge number of these engines boast cutting-edge tech, so the answer is definitely debatable. Let us know what you think below, or in our forum.