Epic Games Announces Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra at GDC 2024

During yesterday’s State of Unreal keynote at GDC 2024, Epic Games announced Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, an upcoming game being directed by Amy Hennig, the director of Uncharted 1, Uncharted 2, and Uncharted 3. The title is planned for a 2025 release and is being created by Marvel and Skydance New Media.

The game will star Drew Moerlein as Captain America and Khary Payton as Black Panther and is described as a “narrative-driven, ensemble adventure.” Players will step into the shoes of four characters: young Steve Rogers; Azzuri, T’Challa’s grandfather and the former Black Panther during WWII; Nanali, the leader of the Wakandan Spy Network; and Gabriel Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos and a United States soldier.

During the presentation, Skydance showcased new features set to ship with Unreal Engine 5.4, while Epic teased what creators can expect moving forward.

“An Experimental new Tessellation feature enables fine details such as cracks and bumps to be added at render time. Moreover, the addition of software variable rate shading (VRS) via Nanite compute materials brings substantial performance gains,” the company said.

“Animators, get ready—the built-in animation toolset received substantial updates enabling you to quickly and easily rig characters and author animations directly in the engine, without hopping to external applications. Create faster with an Experimental new Modular Control Rig, Automatic Retargeting, reorganized Anim Details, an overhauled Sequencer, and more”

New features for Unreal Editor for Fortnite were also revealed, along with the news that Rocket Racing, Fall Guys, and Lego elements would be added to the program.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is set to release for unspecified platforms sometime in 2025.