Buena Vista using Gamebryo for next-gen

Buena Vista Games today announced an agreement with Emergent Game Technologies to license the firm's Gamebryo Element engine and toolset in multiple upcoming PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games.

The Gamebryo engine has been used in a number of games, including Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Civilization IV, Dark Age of Camelot, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. While Buena Vista did not specify which games would use the technology, its current lineup of announced next-gen titles consists of Turok and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (working title).

With the new generation of systems inflating development costs, many publishers are turning to middleware solutions. From detail-oriented programs like the 3D foliage-generating SpeedTree and the Havok physics engine to broader technology like GameBryo and the oft-licensed Unreal Engine, middleware is increasingly becoming a key way companies can keep their costs down.

"This toolset is a proven cross-platform technology that will allow our teams to fully leverage our intellectual properties and focus on our core competencies in developing for next-gen consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360," said Buena Vista Games vice president of internal studios Mark Meyers.