What is a Gaming or Game Engine?

A gaming engine is a software development environment, also referred to as a “game architecture” or “game framework,” with settings and configurations that optimize and simplify the development of video games across a variety of programming languages. A gaming engine may include a 2D or 3D graphics rendering engine that’s compatible with different import formats, a physics engine that simulates real-world activities, artificial intelligence (AI) that automatically responds to the player’s actions, a sound engine that controls sound effects, an animation engine, and a host of other feature.

Why are Gaming Engines Important?

Early video games were developed with their own rendering engines, each specifically designed for one game. Over time, game engines evolved from proprietary, in-house engines to commercially developed engines that are widely available today. Game developers, who are in extremely high demand, can simplify and speed up the game development process by using commercially developed game engines to produce new games or to extend existing games to additional platforms. Arm works with many of the world’s leading gaming companies to fully optimize performance and the overall gaming experience. Gaming partners often select Arm Mali GPUs to create immersive and interactive mobile gaming experiences.

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