BigWorld Technology was an Australian software company. It was the developer of BigWorld, a

middleware Middleware is a type of computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to implement co ...

development tool suite for creating

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...

s (MMO) and

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities ...

s. It was formed in 2002 by

John De Margheriti John De Margheriti (born July 1962) is an Italian Australian, Italian-born Australian Electrical engineering, electrical engineer, software developer and entrepreneur. De Margheriti is widely seen as a founding 'father' of Australia's video games i ...

. It was the first company that developed such a middleware platform for the MMO market. In 2007, BigWorld was recognized as the UK's ''Develop'' magazine's industry leader. On 7 August 2012,

Wargaming A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

—which had used used BigWorld as part of the infrastructure for games such as ''

World of Tanks ''World of Tanks'' (''WoT'') is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century (1910s–1970s) era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to- ...

''—acquired BigWorld for US$45 million. Wargaming stated that it would continue to license and support BigWorld, and foresaw the possibility that it could offer its own technologies with BigWorld for third-party licensors as well. The studio was subsequently operated as Wargaming Sydney. On 17 October 2022, Wargaming sold the studio to

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...

for an undisclosed amount, renaming it Riot Sydney; the sale excludes the BigWorld technology itself and the studio's publishing arm, which will be retained by Wargaming.

Technical overview

BigWorld Technology provides an underlying software architecture needed for game developers to build MMO's and online games. The 3D client technology is built for Windows PC and browser, and is available on iOS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 via network API. The back-end server solution is implemented under Linux, with a

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

API scripting environment. The tool suite includes content creation tools, server monitoring tools and support. BigWorld Technology also integrates various third party plugins such as Umbra (occlusion culling), Scaleform (user interface creation), Speedtree (foliage), and Vivox (VOIP).

Games

Published games using BigWorld Technology include ''

'' (Wargaming), ''

World of Warplanes ''World of Warplanes'' (''WoWp'') is a free-to-play aerial combat massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developed by Persha Studia and published by Wargaming.net. The game was originally released in November 2013 in CIS countries, North America ...

'' (Wargaming), ''

World of Warships ''World of Warships'' is a free-to-play naval warfare-themed multiplayer online game, developed. produced and published by Wargaming. Players can battle others at random or play cooperative battle types against bots or an advanced player versus e ...

'' (Wargaming), ''

Realm of the Titans ''Realm of the Titans'' () is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by Ningbo Shengguang Tianyi for Microsoft Windows. The game is partially inspired by the ''Warcraft III'' custom map, Defense of the Ancients. Development A tea ...

'' (Aeria Games), '' VIE: Virtual Island of Entertainment'' (enVie Interactive LLC), '' Hokuto no ken ONLINE'' (GungHo Online Entertainment), (

Meteor Games Meteor Games was an independent online gaming studio formed in 2007 by Neopets founders Adam Powell and Donna Powell. According to a statement released by the company, its games will "cross the appeal of social networks, web-based casual games ...

), ''Moego'' ( Userjoy), ''

Tian Xia III ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lo ...

'' (Netease) and ''Secret Kingdoms Online'' (Globex Studios).

List of games made with BigWorld technology

Stalker OnlineStay Out
– MMO BT
Versalis
– switched to

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

& SmartFoxServer

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Negaia
(Vankenthor Entertainment) – switched to Unity & SmartFoxServer

Origins of Malu
(Burning Dog Media) – switched to

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres ...

World of Tanks Blitz ''World of Tanks'' (''WoT'') is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century (1910s–1970s) era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to-p ...

(

) *

(Wargaming) – switched to Core Engine *

(Wargaming) *

(

Aeria Games Aeria Games, formerly known as Aeria Games and Entertainment, is an online game publisher. The corporate headquarters is in Berlin, Germany. Aeria Games was a subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which operates an Internet gaming portal for mas ...

) * Moego ( Userjoy) * Kingdom Heroes 2 Online ( Userjoy) * VIE: Virtual Island of Entertainment (enVie Interactive LLC) * Heroes: Scions of Phoenix ( Userjoy) * Tian Xia II (

NetEase NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...

) * Tian Xia III (NetEase) *

Grandia Online was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Although originally announced in 2004, the g ...

( Gung Ho Online) * Secret Kingdoms Online (Globex Studios) * States at War (Sunhome Entertainment) * Kai Xun (Zhejiang Kai Xun Technology Co., Ltd.) *

Twinity ''Twinity'' is a 3D online virtual world. Initially developed by Metaversum GmbH, it is currently held by ExitReality. The game offers its population, called Twinizens, to navigate around virtual (historical) versions of real-world cities, also ...

(

Metaversum GmbH Metaversum GmbH was a Berlin-based startup company behind the 3D virtual world Twinity. The company was founded in July 2006 and was led by CEO Jochen Hummel, CMO Mirko Caspar and CTO Christian von Hardenberg. In 2010, the company had offices ...

) * Genesis: Journey to the West (

Netease NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...

) * Legendary Champions (

) * Hokuto no ken ONLINE (Gung Ho Interactive) * Floral Fire Online (TianCheng Interactive) * House of Flying Daggers (T2CN) * Interzone Futebol * Kwari (Kwari Ltd) * Storm Hawks MMO (Bitcasters, Inc.) * SZone Online

Server load balancing

BigWorld Server supports dynamic load balancing, a feature that automatically and dynamically spreads user load across multiple cell apps on the same game server, allowing for large numbers of concurrent users to inhabit the same game space. In 1999, BigWorld ran a test, simulating 900 entities on the same server.999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...

Technical overview

Games

List of games made with BigWorld technology

Server load balancing

Licenses

Guinness World Record

Awards

References

External links