Unreal Engine: the new pricing model explained

Unreal Engine, one of the most versatile graphics engines, used in fields such as virtual reality, video game creation, simulation and film, faces a major change in its licensing model starting in 2024. Epic Games, the company behind Unreal Engine, is introducing new terms and fees for non-game developers.

The New Licensing Model:
Starting next year, non-game developers will only be able to access Unreal Engine through an expensive enterprise software contract. This will involve a minimum payment of $750 per month per user and a variable percentage of the revenue generated by the applications developed with the engine. In addition, technical and legal requirements will be established, such as using the latest version of the engine and sharing data with Epic Games.

Impact on Non-Game Developers:
This change has a significant impact on non-game developers. On one hand, the increase in costs can make non-game projects harder to keep profitable. On the other hand, developers will lose some flexibility and autonomy, since they will depend more on Epic Games’ decisions. In addition, it could create compatibility and migration problems for projects in progress or existing ones built with earlier versions of the engine.

This change poses challenges for those who use Unreal Engine in fields other than video games, and the non-game community is expected to look for creative solutions to adapt to these new conditions.

Note: The term ‘non-game’ refers to applications that are not video games, such as those for virtual reality, augmented reality, simulation, visualization and film, which use Unreal Engine for various purposes.

This article is a machine translation of the Spanish original.

• Unreal Engine
• Video Games
• 3D