On March 2, 2015 one of the most advanced game engines, the
Unreal 4 has gone completely free for any users. The Unreal Engine 4 which can
be used to create anything from games, films, animation, and ever virtual
reality technology is one of the few major game engines that are used by major
studios for blockbuster games titles was not like this before. The Unreal Engine
4 was at first subscription based with a $19 dollar a month subscription with a
5 percent royalty fee on sales. However the creators of the Unreal Engine,
Epic, wanted the Unreal Engine 4 to be able to compete with it’s competitors
Unity and CryEngine as well as to be able to cater to a broader market of indie
content creators, which lead to the idea of a monthly subscription of $19
dollars as well as the 5 percent royalty fee. Once again, Epic’s answer to the
competition and to have a broader market in the indie community was to release
the Unreal Engine 4 as well as all of the future major and minor updates for
free. If you think there’s a catch, you’re right. You pay a 5 percent royalty
on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter, other then
that it is a simple deal in which they will only make money off you if you make
money allowing anybody, new user or professional the freedom to create what
they want with no worries of how they would have to pay for the engine. AS for
the people who have already paid the subscription fee before the free release,
they shall be given there last months payment a refund as well as a $30 dollar
credit to be used in the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Unreal Engine 4 currently
is a fan favorite to many content creators and has fulfilled it’s goal of
extending to a broader market.
