Epic MegaGames

Epic MegaGames, founded in 1991 by Tim Sweeney, began as a small shareware company during the early days of PC gaming. Sweeney, working alone at first, added "Mega" to the name to give the company a larger presence. Their initial focus was on creating smaller games that could be distributed as shareware, where players could try a portion of the game for free before purchasing the full version.

In the early 1990s, Epic gained recognition with games like Jill of the Jungle, Epic Pinball, and Jazz Jackrabbit. These titles, especially Jazz Jackrabbit, became quite popular in the PC gaming community, marking the company as a creative force in the platformer and action game genres.

By 1998, Epic’s major turning point arrived with the release of Unreal, a first-person shooter that introduced the Unreal Engine, a highly advanced game development toolset. The success of Unreal not only established Epic as a serious game developer but also as a major player in the game engine market. The Unreal Engine would go on to be licensed by numerous developers and studios, significantly shaping the future of game creation.

In 1999, the company shortened its name to Epic Games, reflecting its broader ambitions. Epic’s influence continued to grow, especially with the Gears of War series in the 2000s, and then Fortnite, which exploded in popularity in 2017. Fortnite’s massive success, particularly in the battle royale format, catapulted Epic to global prominence.