Midway announces that Unreal Tournament 3 is shipping, and Epic's shooter sequel is now (or soon) available in the US for the PC, with the PS3 edition to follow. A beta demo (story) offers a sample of the game, and here's word:

CHICAGO - November 19, 2007 – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer and world-renowned developer Epic Games Inc., today announced that the highly anticipated and award-winning Unreal Tournament 3 game has shipped for PC. Building off 2006 Game of the Year, Gears of War's massive success, Epic Games has brought the world's premiere and multi-million unit selling first-person-shooter back to the PC. Unreal Tournament 3, rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB, is available for a U.S. suggested retail price of $49.95, with the PC collector's edition available for a U.S suggested retail price of $59.95. Unreal Tournament 3 is also scheduled to be available soon for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

"Unreal Tournament 3's superior graphics and gameplay experience take the award-winning Unreal franchise to a completely new level," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "The game truly defines what fast-paced, frenetic, intense first-person shooter gameplay should be."

"Unreal Tournament 3 delivers on the promise of high-caliber game quality that gamers have come to know and expect from Epic Games and the Unreal franchise," said Mark Rein, vice president, Epic Games. "The power of Unreal Engine 3.0 has enabled the development team to set new expectations for what cutting-edge graphical and gameplay quality for a first-person shooter should be."

Unreal Tournament 3 has been met with numerous awards and critical acclaim from some of the industry's most respected media outlets:

        • "Best of E3" E3 2007 - GameSpy
        • "Best of E3" E3 2007 - ShackNews
        • Runner-Up, "Best Graphics Technology" E3 2007 - IGN
        • Finalist, "Best Shooter" E3 2007 - GameSpot
        • "Most Innovative Games of E3" - E3 2007 - GamePro
        • Nominated "Best PC Game" E3 2007 - GameTrailers
        • Nominated "Best First-Person Shooter" E3 2006 - IGN
        • Nominated "Best Online Multiplayer Game" E3 2007 - Game Critics Awards
        • Nominated "Best Online Game" E3 2007 - GameTrailers
        • Nominated "Best Graphics Technology" E3 2006 - IGN