



Epic Games took the stage during Apple's iPhone event Tuesday to announce a new installment in its hit series of Epic Games

The third installment in the hit mobile hacking-and-slashing game "Infinity Blade" will launch alongside iPhone 5S and the revamped mobile operating system, iOS 7, Epic Games representatives announced at Tuesday during Apple's media event in Cupertino, Calif.

Donald Mustard of Epic Games took the stage to give the first details about "Infinity Blade 3," which he said will be the final installment in the series that's given many an iPad and iPhone owner an achy wrist and swiping finger. Unlike the previous games, which featured only one player character, the new "Infinity Blade" will let players choose between a male a female warrior with whom they can embark on an epic dragon-slaying quest.

Mustard spent most of his time pushing the new features and upgrades that the iPhone 5S will bring to "Infinity Blade 3" such as "lens flares that would make J.J. Abrams proud" thanks to the new phone's A7 processor and 64-bit chip, which Apple and Epic said make the new phone's graphic performance 56 times better than the original iPhone's.

For an event that's dominated by talk of pixel counts and camera features, Epic Games's appearance onstage alongside Apple might have surprised gamers and iPhone fanboys alike, particularly given the absence of any announcement about the much-rumored TV features that many techies expected to see on Tuesday. But Apple used the opportunity to present the iPhone as a vibrant gaming platform in its own right distinct from the looming competition of other tech companies like Microsoft and Sony, both of which are planning to release high-end video game consoles later this year along with other mobile and media-streaming devices.

"Infinity Blade 3" will debut on the iOS App Store for $6.99 on Sept. 18, the same day iOS 7 goes live and two days before the iPhone 5S goes on sale. The game is compatible with the two new iPhones announced today, the 5S and 5C, as well as the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, iPad Mini, iPod touch 5, and iPod touch 4. Watch the reveal trailer below.



Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered technology and games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at: Yannick.LeJacq@nbcuni.com.

