Epic Games plans to created a balanced, deeper open-sourced shooter with Unreal Tournament, and the free, moddable, game developed in tangent with the players may eventually go the eSports route.

Speaking with PC Gamer, senior programmer Steve Polge said the particular development model being used will build a much better balanced and finely tuned game, which Epic feels is “vital to the long-term success of a competitive shooter.”

“It’s already evident that there are many players contributing to our design discussions that have a thorough understanding of game mechanics and balance issues,” he said. “Their contributions will help make Unreal Tournament’s gameplay deeper and more balanced than any past title.

“In addition, having a large audience of developers and fans continuously playtesting the game and providing feedback will have a massive impact on our ability to make sure all elements of the game are well-balanced for a wide range of skill levels.”

Epic are going to start with Deathmatch and team modes for the new UT, and once a polished, updated version of arena Deathmatch and team game modes are created, vehicle-based combat will be implemented.

Longer term, Polge said Epic would “love to support UT as an eSport game.”

“We’ll need the community’s help in designing and implementing many of the features that implies, like advanced match spectating, broadcasting and livestreaming,” he said.

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The return of Unreal Tournament was announced earlier this month during Twitch stream from Epic.