Unreal Tournament 2014 announced, is 100% free for PC, Mac and Linux

Something that Epic Games teased earlier in the week has now come true - Unreal Tournament is back, and is completely free. Unreal Tournament 2014 is a sequel to the famous first-person shooter, and is not just free-to-play, but is completely free. It is being built for PC and Mac only, with Linux support also making it in. This ain't no console dumbed down first-person shooter, folks!

Epic Games will be making money from the user-driven mod marketplace, similar to Valve's Team Fortress 2. Better yet, the game is in a very early stage, with the developer taking on fan comments and suggestions on how to make the game. Epic Games has "a small team of UT veterans that are beginning work on the project starting today," and "from the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers. We'll be using forums for discussion, and Twitch streams for regular updates". More details on how it'll work below:

Here's the plan:

• We've created a small team of UT veterans that are beginning work on the project starting today.
• From the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers. We'll be using forums for discussion, and Twitch streams for regular updates.
• If you are a fan and you want to participate, create a free account and join the forum discussion.
• All code and content will be available live to UE4 developers on GitHub.
• The game will be true to its roots as a competitive FPS.
• Development will be focused on Windows, Mac and Linux.

So what's the catch?

• It will take many months until the game is playable by gamers. This is real development from scratch.
• When the game is playable, it will be free. Not free to play, just free.
• We'll eventually create a marketplace where developers, modders, artists and gamers can give away, buy and sell mods and content. Earnings from the marketplace will be split between the mod/content developer, and Epic. That's how we plan to pay for the game.