GDC: Simutronics' HeroEngine Gets Three Licensees

MMO technology corporation Simutronics has announced three new licensees for its HeroEngine, a platform for the development of MMOs previously picked up by BioWare for the production of a yet unannounced game. Publisher Virgin Games UK, in partnership with Germany's Trianit have announced that Virgin's new virtual island portal A World of My Own is being developed using HeroEngine. Texas developer Stray Bullet Games, and California's Colony studios have both announced their licensing of HeroEngine as well, though no details about either project are yet available. Simutronics describes HeroEngine as "an MMO developer's dream come true," the key features of which include simultaneous live, online, real time editing of MMO worlds and its contents, termed by the company as "massively collaborative game building." The engine allows developers to build the game world, systems, as well as its user interface, on top of the ability to test and adjust the game, all within the same graphical environment where the game being built will be played. Said Simutronics CEO David Whatley, “We welcome our new licensees. After massive technology diligence they all saw how using HeroEngine’s advanced features and revolutionary workflow will bring to market leading edge MMO games faster than ever before."