While both Microsoft and Epic Games are currently attending the Game Developers Conference 2008, GamePro is speculating that the Windows giant might be looking to acquire the Gears of War/Unreal Tournament developers for aprox $1 billion, mainly out of interest for its Unreal Engine 3. While it is pure speculation at this point, Microsoft is having its briefing Wednesday morning, where it is expected to make several announcements, and Epic on Thursday afternoon. Acquisition? Gears of War 2? New Xbox 360 version? Blu ray ? We'll find out soon?

UPDATE: Not exactly denying it, Epic's Mark Rein responded saying that if GamePro wants to speculate, they should start at $2 billion, Epic isn't that cheap.

Hot on the heels of its recent Unreal Tournament 3 release, Epic Games plans on building a dedicated office for 3rd party game testers (who license the Unreal Engine) right next to its current headquarter on a 5 acres plot it has bought last month for $1.57 million according to The Raleigh News-Observer. Dozens of testers visit each year, setting up at temporary workstations and trying to work out the kinks in Epic's latest games, so having them right next door would improve the feedback loop.

Epic Games announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Warsaw, Poland-based game developer People Can Fly, best known for Painkiller, but most recently has been collaborating with Epic on the PC version of Gears of War. The two companies are collaborating on a new IP which Epic will be previewing privately at Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany this week.

Epic's VP Mark Rein revealed they have been served with a lawsuit by Too Human developer Silicon Knights, but he refused to comment further on the matter, as advised by the legal department. Silicon Knights' president Denis Dyack, however, claims Epic's breach of contract forced them to proceed this way because "Epic simply refuses to acknowledge the inadequacies of the Unreal Engine 3 code it provides to its licensees," resulting in serious financial loss to SK and other developers. A full 52-page transcript of the lawsuit can be read over at Gamasutra...

Epic Games reveals that it will be demonstrating the latest Unreal Engine 3 features at GDC 2007 in closed door presentations, as well as having its usual multiple speaker sessions, dedicated space in the Career Pavilion (CP 1502), special press sessions for the industry’s media and a pre-GDC seminar for Unreal Engine 3 licensees.

Epic Games announced today that it is planning an expanded presence at GDC. As well as bringing show goers the usual stunning Unreal Engine 3 demos and presenting key technical advancements over the past year, Epic are also expanding their presence to include a dedicated space in the Career Pavilion and special press sessions for the industry's media.

Epic Games announced it is looking to bolster its technology team to manage its exponential growth in the engine licensing business. Epic is creating a new position for Lead Engine Programmer, which will head the Unreal Engine team.

Epic Games today announced that it has completed the purchase of the Reality Engine from Artificial Studios and hired its founder, and lead engine programmer, Tim Johnson. Tim will join the Unreal Engine 3 development team effective immediately and be part of Epic's presence at the E3 in Los Angeles, California next week.

At the Game Developer Conference, AGEIA Technologies, Inc. announced that Epic Games and Ubisoft will support AGEIA's PhysX chip, the world's first dedicated physics processing unit (PPU).

Epic Games today announced it will be demonstrating Unreal Engine 3 tools and technology and headlining three speaker sessions at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco March 9-11, 2005. Read more for details ...

Tonight at X03, Microsoft announced a partnership with Epic Games, developers of the legendary Unreal series of games and the Unreal® Engine. Epic Games and its recently-formed Scion Studios will develop several new games exclusively for Xbox and Windows. The to-be-announced products will be published by Microsoft Game Studios.