In a surprising announcement earlier today, Epic Games announced their decision to release their Unreal Engine technology to the public for free. 100% of the C++ source code will be available, and future updates will continue to be free. The Unreal Engine is of course used for the Unreal games, a series of first person shooter games on the PC. Currently on build version 4, upcoming games using the Unreal Engine includes titles like Mortal Kombat X and Fable Legends. Epic Games previously released Unreal Engine 4 in 2014 an a subscription service for $19 per month.
With the versatility of the Unreal Engine, users are free to create whatever they would like, be it for game development, education, film, etc. However, should revenue be made from any of these projects, Epic Games will take a small cut. As outlined in their announcement:
You pay a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter. It’s a simple arrangement in which we succeed only when you succeed.
Unreal Engine has a booth in this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. Located at booth #1024 South, people are welcome to try out various games using the Unreal Engine and to chat with Epic Games’ developers (who will also be giving talks and presentations). The Game Developers Conference runs from March 2nd to March 6th.
Source: Games Press, Unreal Engine Blog, Game Developers Conference
