Valve, developer of best selling games and leading edge technologies, today announced a Source Engine licensing partnership with Arkane Studios, creators of Arx Fatalis. Already in development, Arkane's Source-based project is targeted for the PC.

Valve's Source Engine Technology, the same used to create Half-Life 2, gives developers the ability to create expressive digital actors and physically simulated worlds. It also offers advanced rendering capabilities and the industry's most convincing artificial intelligence.

"It is a very comfortable feeling for a developer to be able to concentrate on the content of its game and have access to a set of stunning features and capabilities," said Raphael Colantonio, CEO of Arkane Studios. "Source is solid, performant and extremely complete in terms of the amount of innovative features. But more important, it is also open and flexible enough to allow us to build creatively upon, without having to bare the technological risks. Working with Valve is not only a fan's dream, but also an excellent opportunity to be one of the fortunate developers in the world to benefit from the Source engine's most impressive features."