Latest Unreal Dev Grants fund VR game and sci-fi film

Epic Games has announced the latest recipients of its Unreal Dev Grants, a programmed launched earlier this year to help fund projects using Unreal Engine 4.

Cherry Pie Games has been awarded $15,000 towards the development of its VR adventure game Emmerholt (pictured). The Orlando-based studio was set up by six developers that met at the University of Central Florida.

Meanwhile, Nagapi Productions has received $20,000 towards Outlaws, a film adaptation of a graphic novel by the company’s Jason Edwards. Together with company founder Greg Meeres-Young, Edwards is experimenting with the potential of UE4 in high-end film production, drawing on the duo’s experience creating VFX for Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Guardians of the Galaxy.

“I started the project to demonstrate my belief that games technology could revolutionise the way VFX artists work,” said Meeres-Young. “UE4 has made this belief a reality, enabling the creation of dynamic, visually rich worlds without the hours of offline rendering.”

Cherry Pie’s Jeremy Boggs added: “The Unreal Dev Grant is a huge achievement for our small team. We are incredibly honoured and pumped to carry forward with the development of Emmerholt.”