Gameloft, the developer and publisher behind a multitude of digital and online games, has announced a multi-platform licensing agreement with Epic Games that will enable Gameloft to incorporate the Unreal Engine 3 in four new games, two to be released in 2011 and two in 2012.

Previously used on DirectX 10-enabled PCs, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms, Unreal Engine 3 supports advanced gameplay features such as particle effects, gameplay scripting, rigid bodies, ragdolls, vehicles, and physics-based animation.

Plenty of games have been based upon the third Unreal Engine: the Gears of War series, two BioShock titles, and Alpha Protocol – just to name a few created in the last couple years.

“Gameloft is very pleased to partner with Epic, especially with their ability to stay ahead of the curve and continually place the best game engine technology in developers’ hands at any given point in time,” noted Julien Fournials, Gameloft’s Vice President of Production. “Using Unreal Engine 3 allows us to push game visuals with remarkable lighting and high-fidelity environments. We are confident that players will enjoy the games powered by Unreal Engine 3.”

“There is no doubt that the four games running on Unreal Engine 3 will be visually stunning and take advantage of the powerful mobile gaming devices,” said Epic Games President Mark Rein. “We are thrilled to provide our technology to Gameloft and look forward to a lasting collaboration.”

Under this refined agreement, Gameloft plans to release games on multiple mobile and downloadable platforms. Besides Apple devices, Gameloft will push toward development on Android and the PlayStation Network.