Core Heads To Early Access And An Exclusive Agreement With Epic Games Store

Game-creation engine Core has a new home. Following an alpha that saw more than a million players try the game, Core is now in early access exclusively on the Epic Games Store, offering 20,000 free games on its platforms, with hundreds more being developed daily.

Manticore Games heralded the announcement with a new trailer, seen below and narrated by World Wrestling Entertainment performer (and podcaster) Austin Creed. The developer also tapped Geoff Keighley to host the Core Games Showcase on the Game Awards Twitch Channel, highlighting many of Core's top games and creators. After the show, you can view the VOD on Core's YouTube channel.

For a limited time, players on Epic Games Store can obtain exclusive heroes and mounts either by creating a new account on the store or by linking an existing Core account to Epic Games Store.

"We built Core to open gaming to a new wave of creators from all backgrounds," said Manticore Games Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder Jordan Maynard. "That new generation is already publishing amazing experiences that rival those of big studios or that big studios wouldn't even think of making." Future enhancements include "virtual events and persistent player housing, as well as new features for creators, including a physics-based vehicle system and an assets marketplace."

By forging an alliance with Epic, Core is pushing hard up against what most would probably perceive as its primary competitor in the "game creation" field: Roblox. Manticore Games is certainly looking to snag some of that sweet Fortnite audience, which makes the deal a little curious given Epic's desire for Fortnite to emulate some of the same community-based gameplay as Roblox.