According to Videogamer, Epic's Mark Rein says PS3 owners shouldn't expect Unreal Tournament III's split-screen option for Xbox 360 to be patched into their version of the game. To compensate, he says they "should be happy" that they have user-generated mod support.

Rein explains it would be a "big job" to go back and retrofit the PS3 version and doesn't believe Epic has the resources to devote to such a project. He says more mod support will be added to the PS3 version of the game, but wouldn't go into specifics. The Xbox 360 version of UT3 is expected "this summer."

Oh, Samus, did you lose all of your suit's abilities again? Is that why you're running around in Unreal Tournament III, picking fights with Master Chief? Wait, is your lawyer okay with this? Does he think all this modding magic is "great?"

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Unreal Tournament 3 isn't just receiving a patch today, but it's also getting three new maps for free (yum!). The maps will be available for PC and PS3 (as soon as the PSN update happens this afternoon). This free content update is very much in line with Epic's business philosophy, despite what we've seen regarding Gears of War DLC on Xbox 360.

The three new UT3 arenas are named: Morbias, Facing Worlds and Searchlight. Morbias is the deathmatch arena that "started it all," Facing Worlds is another classic map for snipers and Searchlight is a capture the flag map. Go get 'em fragmasters!

Remember when buying a console game meant living with whatever bugs and gameplay glitches got inadvertently shipped with the game? Well, the folks at Epic want you to forget all about those days with a patch for the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament coming down the PSN pike on March 27.

The fixes included in the free, downloadable patch include support for character mods, an easier method for downloading mods from the web browser, and basically a lot of other stuff related to mods (in addition to some other incidental tech fixes). The patch will also bring the European and U.S. editions of the game into alignment, allowing for online matches across the Atlantic. A nice feature, but we hope all that data going across the transatlantic cables doesn't cause too much lag.

Check out the full list of bug fixes after the break.

While we can think of other childhood amusements we'd rather see as the inspiration for a Unreal Tournament 3 mod (like a recreation of a Mighty Max playset, or something of the Fraggle variety), this Lego-themed map is pretty ingenious (and completely free to download). Composed entirely of fully destructible Lego brick structures and populated with Lego people (whose smug smirks you can blast off their tiny, yellow faces), it's definitely the world's most vivid simulation of what going postal in Legoland might be like -- and the cleverest map we've seen from the UT3 modding community so far.

Having tired of rubbing actual elbows with fellow teammates, Epic Games' always verbose VP Mark Rein has confessed that he and his squad of developers have "pretty much run out of space" in the company's North Carolina base of operations, and that plans are well underway for an expansion to "at least" double the facility's current size. According to a report by North Carolina's News Observer, the devs coughed up a cool $1.57 million for the new office space, which will be positioned on a five-acre lot adjacent to Epic's current 31,000-square foot HQ.

Headcount at Epic currently stands at 94, with current growth of around one new employee a month expected to continue for the next couple of years. So with all of this added space, will the developers get to spread out, and maybe quit knocking over each others' Mt. Dew as they reach for their mouse? Unlikely, as the report notes that the new facility will instead be largely used to house the numerous play testers that visit Epic, rather than have to rent out space down the street. We understand the need completely, though until the devs get additional space of their own we'd suggest judicious application of lids.

Epic still hasn't finished up the tools that will allow modders to make their Unreal Tournament 3 maps work on the PS3, but they've taken it upon themselves to pick one from the PC community and "cook" the code so it could work on Sony's box. Players can now download DM-Shrine, made by English graphic designer Thomas Browett, here or here.

The directions for getting it onto your PS3 (which we've lovingly placed after the jump) are not exactly user friendly, but shouldn't be too big of a hurdle. The one issue is that you are going to need someway to get it onto the system, either via a memory card or a USB memory stick. We know we're not game designers, and we think free content's great, but is there really no more elegant way of handling this?

[Via 1UP]

Despite initial doubts, Midway has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 version of first-person twitchfest, Unreal Tournament III, will begin shipping to North American stores on December 10th, with "limited quantities" leaping onto shelves the following day. Initial supply has no doubt been hampered due to Epic's last-minute (some say miraculous) completion of the game, not to mention the fact that Bob the disc burner wanted to go on vacation like yesterday.

In case you missed it during the Thanksgiving avalanche, Unreal Tournament III is already available for the "personal computer."

PS3 owners can put their fears to rest: It looks likes you are going to get your hands on Unreal Tournament 3 before year's end. Epic's Mark Rein has just posted on the company's official forums: "We got news last night that Unreal Tournament 3 has been approved by SCEA and has been released to North American manufacturing."

Now, the big question is when you or Santa (wink!) will be able to get your hot/gloved hands on it. Rein says Midway will have a formal announcement early next week, but he guessed they "will start shipping the title to North American retailers on Monday December 10th and it could show up in stores as early as December 11th, but more likely toward the middle of that week."

Rein still isn't sure about PAL territories because of some localization issues. His best guess is that the the game will ship there in January or February.

Midway announced today that Unreal Tournament 3 is gold for the PC and will start blowing stuff up Nov. 19. And what about the PS3 console exclusive version? Midway already covered their bases and said they don't think it's coming until 2008, but Epic's Mark Rein said at the time they're still pushing for '07. Midway's press release from today says the PS3 version "will follow soon." We're just curious to know how long after the PS3 UT3 launch will the Xbox 360 version be announced -- Epic has obviously found success on the platform.

If you were picturing Darth Vader's infamously prolonged "No!" in response to this news, we'll improve your mental image by replacing the overacting villain with another shiny black object -- the PlayStation 3. In a financial update released today, Unreal Tournament III publisher Midway stated that its annual estimates have been revised due to "the expected movement of Unreal Tournament 3 for the PLAYSTATION 3 system into the first quarter of fiscal 2008." Conveniently and refreshingly, Midway's 2008 fiscal year begins in 2008. Also, unfortunately.

With fans already assaulting the forums of developer Epic Games, company VP Mark Rein has once again posted one of his noncommittal assurances. "As a public company, Midway felt an obligation to its shareholders to let them know about the possibility of a delay," said Rein. "But our goal is still to get the PS3 version of UT3 in stores before the end of 2007. However, we will only ship it once it's ready and is the best game we can deliver." See if you can extract any optimism from that, at least enough to cover what could become a fairly unsightly hole in the PS3's holiday lineup.

PC owners will be glad to learn that their version(s) of the frenetic first-person shooter is still due for a November release.

This November PC gamers will have a choice to make: settle for the regular edition of Unreal Tournament 3 ($50), or fork over just a bit more for the newly announced collector's edition, which comes in an obligatory tin case.

For an extra $10, Midway is packing in an art book detailing the game's vehicles, characters, weapons and environments, as well as a bonus DVD featuring "in depth" Unreal Engine 3 Toolkit video tutorials, an Unreal Tournament retrospective, and a look behind the scenes at the making of UT3.

This special edition is expected to be available in the US on November 19 alongside the regular, non-tin version, while Midway adds that both will also be released in the UK, Europe, South Africa, Russia, Australia and "most other territories."

PS3 players hoping to test their Unreal Tournament 3 skills against PC players (read: get their clocks cleaned) will be out of luck according to Epic's Mark Rein. In an IRC chat yesterday, Rein wrote, "The biggest challenge in doing cross platform play is syncronizing [sic] the builds such that the build on the PC is 100% compatible with the build on the PS3."

The good news is that the PC-PS3 divide may not be a permanent one. Rein said that the feature is one that could be considered after the game is released. But, unfortunately, he says that even at that point "the likelihood is small." Though it's a cool feature, we still want to know ... is it something you guys care about?

You know why people like Cliffy B? No, it's not just the stylish locks and game design skills (though that's part of it, make no mistake). It's his honesty. It's the forthrightness, for example, to call BioShock his Game of the Year in September of a year when he is releasing a game of his own. That's the kind of guy we look up to.

The man behind Gears of War gives a frank, funny take on the game (which was made with Epic's technology) over at his blog. Although he's dumping heaps of praise on the game, Cliffy's also honest enough to admit there are some things he doesn't like, including forcing his enemies to be covered in bees. We're still curious about the GOTY distinction though. Either he's as honest as we think, "Except for My Game" was implied in the award title or, maybe, it's just a subtle hint that Unreal Tournament 3 really, really isn't guaranteed to come out in November.

[Update: Not so fast, there. Rein told Next-Gen that "Nothing has changed at this point. We're working toward a November release ... We don't know the specific release date yet and I think it is always prudent to remind our fans that we value quality over release date." While there's still "no guarantee" of a November release, it's nice to know that their plans haven't changed (they just haven't made any yet!).]

Epic's Mark Rein made a post on Epic's Unreal Tournament forums last Friday saying there is "no guarantee" of a November release on the PS3. He says they don't know when the game will be completed, but says they want to offer UT3 when it is finished instead of just getting it out the door. Next-Gen interprets this to mean that there may be a delay incoming, meanwhile GI.biz (which didn't link their source material) says that this puts "PS3 Unreal Tournament exclusivity in doubt." The PC version would also be affected by this issue.

Remember how we were talking about "happy delays" and "sad delays"? This is a little bigger than a possible "sad delay." It tosses another log -- a major log given the E3 press conference -- on the PS3's delay bonfire. Even though it also affects PC, it's just not a healthy hit for the PS3 to take at the moment on the console front. We're just wondering who's going to talk or spin this story first -- Sony or Epic? There's also no word if this possible delay will push off the Xbox 360 release to give the PS3 an exclusivity window. This is not a game the PS3 wants to lose for the holiday season, but it's also a franchise Epic won't put in danger by being partially done for release.

[Via Next-Gen and GI.biz]