What Unreal Engine is

Unreal Engine is a real-time 3D creation tool and game engine published by Epic Games. Epic describes Unreal Engine as a complete suite of creation tools for game development, architectural and automotive visualization, linear film and television content, broadcast and live event production, training and simulation, and other real-time work. Every Unreal Engine download includes full C++ source access and Blueprint visual scripting.

Who publishes Unreal Engine

Epic Games publishes Unreal Engine and distributes it through the Epic Games Launcher. Documentation, courses, and forums live on the Epic Developer Community at dev.epicgames.com, not on unrealengine.com. Unreal Engine sits alongside other Epic tools, including MetaHuman for digital human characters and Unreal Editor for Fortnite for content published inside Fortnite.

Pricing and licensing

Unreal Engine is free to download, and free to use for students, educators, schools, hobbyists, and companies under a revenue threshold. Commercial use then follows one of two paths: products that rely on Unreal Engine code at runtime, typically games, are royalty based once the product passes a lifetime gross revenue threshold, while other commercial users buy Unreal Subscription seats once their company passes an annual revenue threshold. Rates and thresholds change, so the Unreal Engine licensing page is the price of record and the binding terms are in the Unreal Engine End User License Agreement.

Platforms and availability

The Unreal Editor runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Epic's Unreal Engine FAQ states that Unreal Engine 5 deploys projects to Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Steam Deck, and XR devices through OpenXR and SteamVR. Console tools and code cost nothing extra for registered platform developers. Current requirements are in the Unreal Engine specifications documentation.

Disambiguation

Unreal Engine is not Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Unreal Editor for Fortnite, abbreviated UEFN, builds content published and played inside Fortnite, whereas Unreal Engine builds standalone products that you ship yourself. Unreal Editor is the desktop application that ships with Unreal Engine, not a separate product. Unreal Subscription is the seat license for commercial Unreal Engine use, and MetaHuman is a character framework covered by an existing Unreal Engine license from version 5.6 onward.