Gaming news

Unreal Engine 5 Demo Video Shows Game Pitch Called Airborn

August 15, 2022

Picture: Airborn Studios

I love the Unreal Engine 5 presentation videos. I can’t get enough. To be clear, I don’t even care how playable any of them end up being, because this is an art feature, not a game review section, and therefore all that I don’t care is how beautiful they are, and tonight’s showcase is very pretty indeed.

Here is Airborn, a video made by Airborn Studios, an art studio in Berlin that we have featured many times before, especially for their amazing work on some of Overwatch’s skins:

After a hibernation phase of several years, we called to revisit the project that bears the name of our studio. I wonder what it would be like if we jumped back into this world with new ideas, a different approach, a mix of Airborn veterans and new team members, and the determination to use the latest technology to push the stylized game art and staying true to the essential pillars of work that was done long ago. And without further ado, we proudly present the result!

Showcase Airborn UE5

When they say “hibernation phase”, they are not kidding: Airborn as an idea it’s been moving for more than 15 yearswith this latest video just the most contemporary expression of the idea that gave the studio its name.

It is important to note here that this is not a playground in the sense that it is something that is actively trying to be done. Instead – they called it a “visual prototype” in this case – it’s a way for artists to be able to work on something that looks like a video game to showcase their skills, while creating something that belongs to them, not the intellectual property of an employer or client.

To give you an idea of how much work something like this goes into, here’s the full list of credits for the project:

Airborn Studios

Alexandre Delagrange – 3D Env/Prop Art

Alexandra Graap – 3D Character Art

Artur Rosario – Tech Art

Benjamin Sauder – Technical Director

Boris Patschull – Managing Director

Ching Rappsilber-Li – Executive Assistant

Erik Neubauer – 3D Character Art

Fatos Tahiraj – 3D Character Art

Gabriel Hanna – 3D Env/Prop Art

Ilka Hesche – Concept Art

Jan Wyss – 3D Env/Prop Art

João Sapiro Josue – 3D Env/Prop Art

Johannes Figlhuber – Art direction and concept art

Jonas Kunert – 3D Env/Prop Art & Concept Art

Julian Dasgupta – Project Management and Public Relations

Kevin Skok – 3D Env/Prop Art

Lennart Berger – 3D Character Art

Malwina Czech – 3D Env/Prop Art

Manuel Sitompul – 3D Character Art

Manuel Virks – 3D Level Manager

Niels Timmerman – 3D Character Art

Simon Kopp – Art direction and concept art

Steffen Unger – 3D Character Manager

Svenja Roesner – 3D Env/Prop Art

Tim Moreels – 3D Character Art

Verena Porcher – Website relaunch coordination

Victor Pancrazi – 3D Character Art

Music

Ian Dorsch

Funkeyz Animation Studio

Shuki Gamliel – Animation Supervisor

Sonia Wolfson – Animation

Arthur Kazin – Animation

Michael Fabris – Rigging

SkewSound

Dan Crislip – Audio Director

Christopher Wilson – Sound Design

Nicholas Kallman – Sound Design

Steve Pardo – Sound Design

Production babies

Joshua (Yoshi)

Special thanks

Adina Krause

Ezgi Bulut

Josh Dinah

Matthew Schneider

If you want to know a little more about Airborn and its creation, the team wrote a short blog about the processbut were also kind enough to share a ton of behind-the-scenes bits from the making of the video, ranging from character designs to airship renders: