IW Engine is a next-generation game development engine employed in the highly successful series of Call of Duty. The engine is developed in C/C++ and Python language. It targets the platforms of Microsoft Windows, OSX, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Wii U. It was developed by Video Game Companies Infinity Ward Inc. and Treyarch. The engine was originally based on id Tech 3 game engine. The first version IW 2.0 was developed in 2005.
IW engine is a subsidiary company of Activatision Inc. IW engine is a proprietary engine. It was established in 2002 Vince Zampella, Grant Collier, and Jason West. All the team members of this organization had been previously working in 2005 Inc. (A video Game company which developed successful game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, published by EA).
Until now eight versions of the engine has been released with almost thirteen successful games. The first game of Call of Duty was developed in 2003 for Microsoft Windows. This game was a modified version of id Tech 3. The first version IW 2.0 was highly altered from id Tech 3 and was used in Call of Duty 2 that used advanced graphics. IW 3.0 featured bullet penetration, Particle systems, Improved AI and many more in Call of Duty 4 and 007: Quantum of Solace. IW 4.0 and 5.0 was employed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 respectively in which Audio and Lighting engines were introduced along with improved AI and texture streaming.
IW 6.0 was used to develop Call of Duty: Ghosts that featured HDR lighting, Fluid Dynamics, Displacement mapping and Dynamic mapping. IW 7.0 was used in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare that introduced Zero-Gravity Simulation, Improved NPC (Non Player Characters) behavior and Dynamic movements etc. The latest version IW 9.0 was released in 2022.
Features
- True World Dynamic Lighting And Shadows
- Radgoll Physics For Dying Characters
- Realistic Fire
- Realistic Character Animation
- Realistic Physics
- Advance Weather Effects
- Depth Of Field
- Audio Engine
- Texture Streaming
- HDR Lighting
- Dynamic Water Simulation System
- Ray Tracking
- Improved AI
- Photogrammetry
Games Developed in IW Engine
Other Useful Resources
- Treyarch Official Website: https://www.treyarch.com/
- InfinityWard Official Website: http://www.infinityward.com/
- Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IW_engine