Epic Games has announced that it has acquired a majority interest in People Can Fly, the developer behind Painkiller. They also revealed that the studio is working with Epic on the PC version of Gears of War. Additionally, these companies are also collaborating on a new IP which Epic will be previewing to publishers at the Leipzig Games Convention this week.

The relationship began last year when People Can Fly was evaluating Unreal Engine 3 to use for a new multi-platform game project. “PCF showed us their early prototypes within only a few weeks and we were totally blown away,” said Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games. “The quality of their work was extremely high, and knew we had to find a way to work more closely with them in the future.” Epic hired PCF to work on the PC version of Gears of War, and collaborated with them on design of a new IP.

“We are very excited to be working with Epic Games” said Adrian Chmielarz, Creative Director and Co-Owner of People Can Fly. “To be able to work with the best technology company in the business and collaborate on making amazing fantastic games is an offer you just can’t refuse. Making games is hard work but it is also great fun. Working with Epic reduces the stress of being an independent developer and lets us focus even more on fun side of the business.”