Unity 3D engine gets support for Linux

Unity Technologies, the developer behind the Unity 3D game engine, will provide support for game developers who release games for Linux in the new Unity 4 developer kit. Improved Flash support has also been added.

Unity’s tools are already capable of developing cross-platform games; Windows, iOS, Android, Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360, among others, are supported by the platform. A new PC platform has now been added: Linux. From the new Unity 4 package, developed games can be exported with a ‘desktop Linux’ profile, so that games can also be played on the open source operating system.

Unity states that projects such as the Humble Bundle have shown that there is a market for Linux games, and that game developers can generate about 10 percent extra turnover by making games available for Linux as well. Unity Technologies therefore expects the number of game titles for the open source operating system to grow rapidly with the arrival of Unity 4.

Also new in the development package is improved support for Flash. Developers can now make code suitable for the Flash Player, a plug-in installed on hundreds of millions of systems. Furthermore, the necessary improvements have been made to the Unity 3D engine.