Unreal Engine 3 has been converted to run on iPhones and iPod touches, a recent demonstration reveals. Created by Epic, the technology is used in a number of PC and console games as the basis for rendering, as well as other major game components; some Epic titles with the UE3 engine include Gears of War 2 and Unreal Tournament III. Graphically the engine supports dense geometries and complex lighting.

Epic VP Mark Rein notes that the company is still experimenting with different interfaces, and that the demo lacks polish and some visual details. Because the mobile version of the engine requires OpenGL ES 2.0, it can at present only operate on the third-generation Touch and the iPhone 3GS. Another mobile platform should be shown at next month's CES expo.

Rein states that Epic itself has no plans to produce iPhone games. Third-party licenses are not yet available, but should be in the near future. The technology may in theory allow for more sophisticated and graphically appealing iPhone games, borrowing features directly from their counterparts on more mature platforms.