Among significant changes to gameplay mechanics and visual presentation, one of the major additions introduced by Unreal Tournament 2004 is the inclusion of vehicles and the Onslaught game type, allowing for large-scale battles.

[4] The game is set in a universe where humans long before fought a war with the Skaarj, leaving their galactic empire in shambles.

To assist in the rebuilding of the colonies by calming down enraged colonists, the Liandri Corporation came up with the idea of staging a gladiatorial tournament for the miners.

Additionally, the Skaarj Empire has sent a team of their own to the tournament in search of honor and glory and ex-champion Xan Kriegor has had some modifications and is back to return the title where it belongs.

The game, designed primarily for multiplayer gameplay, offers multiple ways of movement including double-jumping, dodge-jumping, wall-dodging and shield-jumping.

There are also two spacecraft which only officially feature in one Assault map and different types of gun turrets which players can take control of.

An updated demo version, including all the bug fixes from official patches and some original content, was released on September 23 of the same year.

In December 2005, the Mega Bonus Pack was released online by Epic Games, which included several new maps, along with the latest patch and the Editor's Choice Edition content.

In June 2006, Midway Games acquired the publishing rights to the Unreal back catalog from Infogrames and Atari.

Subsequent Midway edition of Unreal Tournament 2004 omits Linux installer from DVD game content.

[14] Red Orchestra, a total conversion modification based on the Eastern Front of World War II and focused on realism-oriented gameplay, was the winner of the contest and is currently available as a retail title on Steam.

Several critics praised the unique, fast-paced, fun and challenging nature of the game as its main selling points, while fans touted the post-release support and extensive modding capabilities.

[36] It received runner-up placements in GameSpot's 2004 "Best Shooter" and "Best Multiplayer Game" award categories across all platforms, losing to Half-Life 2 and Halo 2, respectively.