BLENDER FOUNDATION GOT A WHOPPING $1.2MILLION FROM EPIC GAMES

To further the success of Blender, Epic Games (the creators of Fortnite and Unreal Engine 4), as part of the company’s $100 million Epic MegaGrants program, is awarding the Blender Foundation $1.2 million in cash. This MegaGrant will be delivered incrementally over the next three years and will contribute to Blender’s Professionalizing Blender Development Initiative.

The main aim of the Epic MegaGrants initiative is to assist game developers, enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators, and tool developers doing outstanding work with Unreal Engine or enhancing open-source capabilities for the 3D graphics community. This goes hand in hand perfectly with the recent Unreal Engine addon for Blender that allows you to export content created with Blender to Unreal Engine 4. 

“Having Epic Games on board is a major milestone for Blender,” said Blender Foundation founder and chairman Ton Roosendaal. “Thanks to the grant we will make a significant investment in our project organization to improve on-boarding, coordination and best practices for code quality. As a result, we expect more contributors from the industry to join our projects.”

“Open tools, libraries and platforms are critical to the future of the digital content ecosystem,” said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games. “Blender is an enduring resource within the artistic community, and we aim to ensure its advancement to the benefit of all creators.”

​This news is massive for all Blender creators as it ensures continue support for the Blender Platform for years to come. For more information about Epic MegaGrants, visit unrealengine.com/en-US/megagrants. As for more on Blender, check out the Blender 2.80 release candidate which is now online.