Epic Games' game creation suite Unreal Engine was enormously successful in the previous generation, but it's found its grip on the industry loosening of late. With the uber-popular Unity providing a gateway for fledgling developers, and most big publishers like EA Games, Konami, and Capcom building proprietary technology, the latest version of the Unreal Tournament developer's software hasn't been quite as ubiquitous of late. That could be about to change.
At the Game Developers Conference overnight, the company announced that it'll be making its engine available for free. This means that you'll be able to download it and start creating games right now. Should you build something that you're proud of, you'll be able to publish it on, say, the PlayStation 4 – and you'll only have to pay 5 per cent of the revenue that it earns to Epic after the first $3,000 per quarter.
This means that if you don't cross that income threshold, you won't owe the firm a cent, which cultivates an emphasis on success. "It's a simple arrangement in which we succeed only when you succeed," said a chuffed Tim Sweeney, Epic Games' founder, on the organisation's official blog. "The state of Unreal is strong, and we've realised that as we take away barriers, more people are able to fulfil their creative visions and shape the future of the medium that we love."
If you're not a developer, this probably won't mean a whole lot to you, but it's worth noting that use of the Unreal Engine required a very, very expensive licensing fee at one point in time. The fact that it's now available to download for free through here is a dramatic turn of events, and we hope that it's going to open game production up to a whole new audience of people. Who knows, we could be covering one of your games on these pages in the not too distant future...
[source unrealengine.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 11
Given the state of the industry right now, I think this is the right decision for them. It's also obviously going to be very cool for schools and universities.
Pretty huge news, they probably should have made it free for education anyway.
@crazykcarter I do, yeah. It's interesting how we've come full circle back to the concept, with individuals now making PS4 games like Axiom Verge.
UE4 was free for education, you just had to be an eligible college/uni, this is great news for me as the high school i work at wasn't eligible.
Thus begins my career into Independent Game Development. No more simple stuff!! Well, I'll start with something simple that's fun.. And if I'm really proud of it and if it's absolutely fantastic I hope you guys review it.
@joemolomo my university wouldn't let me get it unfortunately, I'm happy that I can now start developing without having to push out the moneys I need.
Anyone know how this works with a ps4, I'm guessing you still need a ps4 Dev kit to actually send them game to test
@get2sammyb Yes a million times over!!! There's a world of people who can unload on this!!
With all the great India Games on the rise (gang beast, no mans sky, etc.) Activision and others will be shut down!!
Unreal engine was given away free with the original unreal tournament game of the year edition on pc. They operated this policy (payment on success) years ago through unreal ed 1-3. Can anyone on this site use it? I found it impossible.
Well I have always wanted to try using the Unreal Engine 4. Now I have a good excuse too try.
@joemolomo Yeah, obviously there will be extra steps to get the game on PS4 (or any console). You'd also have to get the game through QA, etc. It's not impossible, though, as lots of small teams are proving.
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