The newly re-established Unreal Orlando Chapter was officially announced on Saturday at the Melrose Center in downtown Orlando during the weekend long Orlando Game Jam. Five out of the six chapter leaders in attendance shared the groups initiative which aims to unite developers, designers, and industry professionals to push the boundaries of what Unreal Engine can achieve beyond gaming.

When talking about Orlando, Matt Hogan, CEO of M3D Technologies said, “Yes, Orlando is known for theme parks, and yes, we are a tourist destination, but we’re also the modeling simulation capital of the world. And then, in an 80-mile square radius of Central Florida, not only is there entertainment, but we have a huge medical presence. We have a huge DOD presence. We are literally launching rockets into space 45 minutes from here.”

With UnrealFest 2025 coming to Orlando for the first time from June 2-5, The Unreal Orlando Chapter plans to showcase the region’s talent at UnrealFest, ensuring developers have a platform to demonstrate their work on a global stage.

Ariane Fikki, who’s the Director of Partnerships for the AR/VR Association, highlighted the importance of empowering local creators by saying, “Our creator community here in Central Florida is unlike any other… Unreal isn’t just a tool, it’s a culture. When you give creators the right tools, organize them, and foster collaboration, amazing things happen.”

With the goal of the chapter being a collaborative and human-centric initiative, Dave Vanz, President of Soweo said, “The most important thing about Orlando is the people that live here. Without you, the innovators, the builders, the creators, none of this exists. We want this chapter to be human-centric, telling the stories of the people who are out there pushing boundaries and bringing it all together in a collaborative atmosphere.”

The Chapter, and its leadership team, is committed to support growth and talent retention in the Orlando region and plans to offer hands-on training, expert-led workshops, and networking events. Dr. Daria Sinyagovskaya, who's a professor in Game Design and Development and CEO of Perseus, said, "Our chapter is going to be an infrastructure for developers and game designers to come in and learn things, get the skills they need to continue their creative processes. We will have a series of workshops for different levels to invite that talent to our chapter, to our community. So, it will be starting from foundations of Unreal Engine to advanced game mechanics and the latest advancements in Unreal Engine as well."

The Unreal Orlando Chapter will host its first official meetup in two weeks at OMG Labs and will host and partner with a number of game jams leading up to UnrealFest.

Kunal Patel, Co-Founder of Indienomicon and OMG Labs, stressed the importance of getting involved by saying, “Unreal isn’t just about creating amazing games, it’s about changing major industries. If you work in healthcare, theme parks, space, military, or automotive, these technologies are shaping the future. And the people who will make it happen are all of you.”