There are a large number of studios using Unreal Engine 5. But most studios take off-the-shelf Epic Games tools and create projects based on them. But for some studios, there is closer interaction with engine creators, with development teams working directly with people “inside” of Unreal Engine.
CD Project RED Tell About its role in Unreal Engine 5 development. Company head Michal Nowakowski said the studio is not only using the engine in The Witcher 4, but is also working with Epic Games on its in-house technology. According to him, CD Projekt RED is the only studio of its kind besides the engine authors.
I think we’re actually the only team in the world outside of Epic that works inside a black box, the engine. No one else is doing it but us and them.
However, The Coalition has a long history of interaction with Epic Games. Studio Involved in Preparing Unreal Engine for Xbox Series X Support | S helped Epic optimize The Matrix: Awakening and is actively working with Unreal Engine 5 during its early access phase. Coalition claims to be one of the world’s leading studios developing Unreal Engine 5. Xbox even has a separate technical group made up of former and current The Coalition experts who work on Unreal Engine.
Please note that The Coalition primarily develops Unreal Engine 5 features for console games and technically complex action games. And CD Projekt RED, together with Epic Games, focuses on tools for large-scale open worlds.