Unreal Engine 4 is a complete suite of game development tools made by game developers, for game developers. From mobile games to high-fidelity AR and VR experiences to console blockbusters, Unreal Engine 4 gives you everything you need to start, ship, grow, and stand out from the crowd.
For more information on licensing terms, check out our EULA. Restrictions are minimal, so you can dive right into making your project without worry.
Get Unreal Engine 4 here, and with one free download access all engine features, the full suite of integrated tools, and the C++ source code for the entire engine. You’ll find documentation, tutorials, and support resources, plus tons of free content, including templates, sample games, and complete projects to quickly get you on your way to building anything you want!
Epic regularly releases new versions which include updates, improved features, community contributions, and bug fixes. We also share live changes to source code through GitHub.
Once you ship your game or application, you pay Epic 5% of gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product per calendar quarter. For a more detailed explanation of how that works, see the EULA and our product release page. We also offer custom license terms to companies who prefer to pay an upfront license fee in order to lower the royalty rate.
You can access C++ source code via GitHub here.
The Unreal Engine 4 EULA is a legal document which you’re agreeing to when you sign up for the Unreal Engine. It governs your use of the Unreal Engine, and also describes your rights and obligations when you build games or other products using the engine. Download the EULA as a PDF here.
The official version of the EULA is in English only, but we currently have available a Japanese language EULA, a Korean language EULA, a Chinese language EULA, and a Russian EULA for reference purposes.
(エンドユーザーライセンス契約書の正式な原本は英語版となりますが、参考として日本語参考訳EULA、韓国語参考訳EULA、中国語参考訳EULA、ロシア語参考訳EULAをご用意しております。)
(사용자 편의를 위해 참고용으로 EULA 번역본을 제공해 드리고 있지만, 실질적인 법적 효력은 EULA 영문 원본에만 있다는 점 참고해 주시기 바랍니다.)
EULA 的官方正式版本仅以英文提供，但我们也准备了 EULA 的日语版本，韩语版本和中文版本以供参考。
Официальной является версия Лицензионного соглашения с конечным пользователем на английском языке, однако на данный момент исключительно в информационных целях мы предоставляем перевод на русский язык.
View the Support page for the most comprehensive information regarding how you can get help and information for development with the Unreal Engine.
If you're a custom licensee (meaning you have a UE4 license agreement with Epic other than the free EULA), you should ask your questions at the Unreal Developer Network (login required).
Unreal Engine 4 enables you to deploy projects to Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, AR, VR, Linux, SteamOS, and HTML5. You can run the Unreal Editor on Windows, OS X and Linux.
Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and NIntendo Switch console tools and code are available at no additional cost to developers who are registered developers for their respective platform(s).
Epic Games has committed $100,000,000 to provide financial grants to creative, noteworthy, and innovative projects built in and around Unreal Engine or projects that enhance the open-source 3D graphics ecosystem.
Grants range from $5,000 to $500,000, and cover a variety of endeavors from enterprise or media and entertainment projects, game development, educational or student uses, and software tool development. No matter what size grant you receive, you will continue to own your IP and will be free to publish however you wish.
We’re looking to support anyone doing amazing things with UE4 or for the 3D graphics ecosystem. To ensure that Epic Mega Grants delivers the most value to the community, here are a few considerations:
If you don’t know which of these categories your project falls into, please apply. The more details you can provide about your project, the easier it is for us to evaluate it.
If you are not shipping a game, you will be able to select a 100% royalty-free license of Unreal Engine.
You can read the EULA here.
You can release any product that is allowed by law, with the exception of gambling applications and certain safety-critical control systems described in the EULA. You can release games, demos, VR projects, architectural showcases, trailers, films, and more.
The only parts of the Unreal Engine you can’t release to the general public are the source code and tools or modifications to them; these components may only be distributed to other licensees with access to the same version of the Unreal Engine.
Generally, you are obligated to pay to Epic 5% of all gross revenue after the first $3,000 per game or application per calendar quarter, regardless of what company collects the revenue. For example, if your product earns $10 from sales on the App Store, the royalty due is $0.50 (5% of $10), even though you would receive roughly $7 from Apple after they deduct their distribution fee of roughly $3 (30% of $10).
Royalty payments are due 45 days after the close of each calendar quarter. Along with the payment, you must send a royalty report on a per-product basis. For more information, see here.
Our aim is to provide powerful tools, a scalable and productive workflow, advanced features, and millions of lines of C++ source code that enables developers to achieve more than they would otherwise be able to, so that this structure works to everyone’s benefit.
In this business model, Epic succeeds only when developers succeed using UE4. Many of the industry’s leading developers and publishers have signed up to license the Unreal Engine with royalty-based terms over the years, and now this level of access is open to everyone. And, don't forget, we continue to offer custom terms.
Yes, and we have designed the UE4 Editor and launcher to accommodate this. We aim to build a unified UE4 development and modding community. Here is how this works: You’re free to release your game through any distribution channels of your choosing, however the UE4 Editor (including modified versions) and code may only be distributed through official Epic channels (e.g. the UE4 launcher for binaries, and GitHub for source), to users who have accepted the EULA.
Epic has opened up the Epic Games launcher to developers who wish to ship games supporting mods using the Unreal Editor. This is a great opportunity for games to inspire and benefit a rapidly-growing UE4 mod community. For an example of this process in action, see the Unreal Tournament tab within the UE4 launcher: it hosts the game, the editor, and a marketplace for user-created content. If you’re interested in pursuing this route for your project, contact us.
You’re free to release Unreal Engine products through a publisher or distributor, and the EULA gives you the right to sublicense the necessary parts of the Unreal Engine to them so they can release your game.
When negotiating terms with publishers, please keep in mind that the royalty remains 5% of the product's gross revenue after the first $3,000 per game per calendar quarter from users. In this scenario, feel free to refer your publisher to Epic during discussions, as it may be advantageous to all if the publisher obtains a custom-negotiated, multi-product Unreal Engine license covering your product.
Royalties are due on revenue from Kickstarter or other crowdfunding sources when the revenue is actually attributable to your product. For example, if the user is required to purchase a particular funding package to obtain access (now or later) to your product, or if that package gives the buyer benefits within the product such as in-game items or virtual currency.
Here’s an example of what we mean by “attributable”: Assume you provide two tiers of offers, a signed poster for $20, and a signed poster plus game access for $50. No royalties are due on ancillary products like posters, so no royalty is due on the $20 tier. On the $50 tier, the user is paying for the poster with a $20 value, and that implies that the remaining $30 of value is attributable to the product. So, for each $50 tier sale, you’d pay a royalty of $1.50 (5% of $30).
Yes! The following revenue sources are royalty-free:
You can extend it, modify it, fork it, or integrate it with other software or libraries, with one exception: You can’t combine the Unreal Engine code with code covered by a “Copyleft” license agreement which would directly or indirectly require the Unreal Engine to be governed by terms other than the EULA.
Epic welcomes your feedback and code or other content submissions. If you send code and/or content to us, you need to have all the necessary rights to send it to us. However you send it, we will own it, and can (but don't have to) use it in the engine. Regardless of whether we use it, you can still use it (as long as it is in a way allowed by the EULA).
At any given time you are welcome to see our development roadmap and vote on the features you’re most interested in seeing next!
1. The applicant must be an official post-secondary school of higher education, including colleges, polytechnics, and universities offering accredited academic degrees. At this time, professional training centers are not eligible.
2. The institution must have been teaching Unreal Engine for more than six months. We are only seeking institutions with well-established UE4 curricula.
3. The school has an instructor allocated to teaching Unreal Engine.
4. The program is offering one of the below accredited degree types:
University or college level certificate
Associates Degree
Undergraduate Degree
Master's Degree
First of all, you can redistribute your game, and mods for your game, to anyone and through any channels you desire. These redistribution rights are covered in the EULA section 1a.
Second, you can redistribute your customized version of the Unreal Editor, and (if you choose) UE4 source code, freely, to the Unreal Engine 4 community through Epic's UE4 channels including GitHub and the Marketplace. These redistribution rights are covered in EULA section 1b.
You're free to redistribute all of Epic's UE4 source, and your modifications and extensions to it, to the UE4 community, through a fork of Epic's UE4 GitHub repository. Of course, you're also free to not redistribute any source, if that's what you prefer.
Generally, source code is of interest to a smaller and more hardcore developer community than the Unreal Editor and its user-friendly interface for Blueprint visual scripting and other systems. We recommend starting with a release of mod tools, and considering source later as your community gains momentum.
Yes, mod developers are free to purchase UE4 Marketplace content for use in their mods, and to redistribute that content to the general public as part of their playable mods (in the form of object code and cooked content).
However, mod developers may only share commercial Marketplace content in source code or uncooked form within their mod development team. This content format mustn't be released to the community at large, as Marketplace developers are relying on selling it to earn their livings.