Epic acquires real-time architectural software, Twinmotion

Epic has acquired real-time 3D architectural software, Twinmotion, for an undisclosed sum.  

“We’re excited to announce that Epic Games and Twinmotion have joined forces!” said a statement on the Unreal Engine website. “Powered by Unreal Engine, Twinmotion, a high-quality, easy-to-use real-time visualization solution, is now part of the Epic family.”

Twinmotion – which helps bring architecture, construction, urban planning, or landscaping projects to life via “high-quality real-time visualisation” – had previously been owned by Abvent. Following the acquisition, the software has had “a small number of features […] removed or changed”, but from now until November 2019, it’s available for free for all UE customers, and “yours to keep using indefinitely after that”.

“The new Twinmotion has some differences from Twinmotion 2019, the version previously available from Abvent. Apart from now being free, the latest version offers improved performance, enhanced direct synchronization with Revit and ARCHICAD, and new global illumination glow effects,” added Epic. “All users can also now access a shared library for multi-user collaboration—a feature previously only available in Twinmotion Team.”

Support for Twinmotion is “community-based”, and users can “get help by participating in online discussion forums with other users. Epic is committed to fostering and growing the Twinmotion community”.

Developers who purchased Twinmotion prior to May 13th, 2019, will be provided “a free upgrade to the next paid version of Twinmotion released by Epic (anticipated around November 2019)”. Additionally, Epic has confirmed it will refund previous purchases of Twinmotion (or the maintenance and support agreement provided by Abvent) made by “end users of Twinmotion in 2019”. To apply for a refund, you’ll need to provide your proof of purchase to the Twinmotion support site before August 31, 2019.

This is just one of a string of recent acquisitions for Epic, including Psyonix, Agog Labs, and 3Lateral.