Sony has been spending a lot of money since last years' E3 on obtaining licenses of middleware programs for PlayStation 3 developers. Middleware tools and programs give developers more time in making the actual game like textures, and basically everything except the raw engine, which would cost a lot of money instead.

Sony has bought the licenses of many next-gen middleware and tools, and is planning on shipping them with the final PS3 SDK kits for developers. Read on for the full list of acquired tools.

One of the more popular items in the list is the Unreal 3 Engine, which is used in recent and upcoming Unreal games. The Unreal Engine is more than just a raw engine though, it has a lot of features and is used in a lot of PC games to date.

On the list is also is Maya 7.0, one of the newest 3D animation software tools.

List of Tools and Middleware for PlayStation 3

Sn Systems / ProDG tools
Alias Systems Corp.
SpeedTree RT = renders trees while maintaining a small memory footprint and low runtime load.
Autodesk Inc. = produces visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization.
Avid Technology Inc.
Emergent Game Technologies Inc. (who recently merged with Numerical Design, Ltd.)
Unreal 3 Engine = physics engine along with animation tools
Firelight Technologies Pty Ltd.
Havok 3.0 = physics engine
Interactive Data Visualization Inc.􀀁
Metrowerks Games Team
Pixelux Entertainment Inc. = real-time physical simulation technology
RAD Game Tools Inc. = 3D geometry and animations
SiliconStudio Corp.
Blimey 2.0
Renderware 4 = basic rendering software
Alchemy
Maya 7.0 = animation and character modeling tool
Z Brush = texturing and modeling tool
DarkTree = rendering and pixel shading program
FaceFX = facial animation program
RTE1080 (Real Time Engine) = physics and real time pixel shading
Instinct Engine (possible PS3 middleware) = physics, animations, light and shadow determination
Endorphin 2.5