Another major game platform to support Ubuntu; Unity 4 to support Ubuntu

Unity Technologies announced Monday that the next version of Unity will support publishing to Ubuntu. This is fantastic news because it will enable developers to deliver their new and existing games to Ubuntu users very easily.

The Unity 4 game engine delivers new features like the Mecanim animation technology and a boost in game fidelity to everyone from the independent developer to a major studio. For game developers the gaming engine provides the majority of the technologies required to deliver a game – including things like sound, graphics and physics. Game studios standardise on using an engine so they can spend their time on the aspects of their game that will be unique. For Ubuntu to be supported by game developers the gaming engines are a critical dependency – without them developers cannot port or target new games.

Unity Technologies made their name with independent developers who often target alternative platforms where they can stand out from the crowd of games created by the major studios. Unity Technologies is well known for their deep technology ability and for targeting alternative platforms such as Android. We have been in discussions with Unity Technologies since last summer as there is a lot of developer demand for a market ripe for awesome games. We are delighted to see Unity commit to publishing to Ubuntu – a significant commitment for a team handling so many platforms.

Following on from EA publishing games to the Software Center in May and the Humble Indie Bundle supporting Ubuntu in June – the past several months have been fantastic for gaming on Ubuntu, and Unity 4 support of Ubuntu promises to make next year even better.

If you would like to get involved developing or porting games to Ubuntu with Unity during the beta you can pre-order Unity 4 Pro. In the meantime there are lots of resources available on The Ubuntu Developer site. This month we are running the Ubuntu App Showdown contest with fantastic prizes for the best apps developed.