Free to download, Unreal Engine comes with everything you need to build and ship successful multi-platform games and location-based entertainment for any genre. With full access to source code, a robust C++ API, and Blueprint visual scripting at your fingertips, you can develop your title any way you like.
Break free from barriers with tools and workflows that put you in control. Whether your team is made up of 5 or 500 developers, Unreal Engine’s pre-built, modular systems, customizable plugins, and source control integration will help you meet each project’s unique needs.
Image courtesy of BlueTwelve Studio
One unified content pipeline, all your platforms covered
Connect your players with the same high-quality experience across all major platforms, from mobile to console and PC—just like we do with Fortnite. Extend your worlds using XR (AR, VR, and MR) too!
Made for creators, by creators
At Epic, we use the engine ourselves to craft award-winning, chart-topping content—and what we learn we pass on to you in the form of powerful tools and optimizations. Over the course of two decades, Unreal Engine has become the most trusted, reliable engine in the world.
Image courtesy of Hazelight Studios | EA
A community committed to quality
The highest caliber of professionals continually choose Unreal Engine to push the limits of visual experiences. Whether you’re an aspiring developer or seasoned veteran, you’re joining an active community that’s committed to achieving excellence.
Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN)
What if you could use UE5 tools to create experiences and publish them directly to Fortnite for millions of players to enjoy? With UEFN, that’s now possible! Check it out.
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Features
Key features
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Image courtesy of Ninja Theory | Xbox Game Studios
Industry-leading graphics
Achieve awe-inspiring visual content out of the box with Unreal Engine’s physically based rasterized and ray-traced rendering. Take advantage of advanced dynamic shadow options, screenspace and true 3D reflections, versatile lighting tools, and a flexible node-based material editor to create the most realistic real-time content imaginable.
Image courtesy of Rare
Robust multiplayer framework
For over two decades, Unreal Engine’s multiplayer framework has been battle-tested across many platforms and game types to produce some of the industry’s most engaging multiplayer experiences. Unreal Engine ships with a scalable and proven client/server architecture to bring instant viability to any project’s multiplayer component.
Image courtesy of Turtle Rock Studios | Warner Bros. Games
Full access to C++ source code
With free access to all C++ source code, you can study, customize, extend, and debug the entirety of Unreal Engine, and ship your project without obstruction. Our source code repository on GitHub is continually updated as we develop features in our own mainline, so you don’t even have to wait for the next product release to get your hands on the very latest code.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
Blueprints: create without coding
With artist-friendly Blueprint visual scripting, you can rapidly prototype and ship interactive content without touching a line of code. Use Blueprints to build object behaviors and interactions, modify user interfaces, adjust input controls, and so much more. You can even visualize gameplay flow and inspect properties while testing your work using the powerful built-in debugger.
The highest-quality digital humans
Next-gen games customers expect to be amazed by the characters they see. With MetaHuman Creator, you can create the highest-quality digital humans, complete with hair and clothing, in minutes. MetaHumans come fully rigged and ready to animate in your Unreal Engine projects, with eight levels of detail included.
Designed for the PS5, Sackboy: A Big Adventure made the leap to 3D platformer via the deft work of Sumo Digital. Explore the process behind the creation of the BAFTA-nominated PS5 launch title.
Whether you’re just getting started and need some basic guidance, or you’re a seasoned pro who’s pushing Unreal Engine to its limits, there’s a range of options to help you succeed.
Learn how to make the most out of Unreal Engine by utilizing Blueprints and C++ in ways that complement their individual strengths. By the end, you’ll be able to assess which option fits your own project best.
Explore Unreal Engine in a production scenario, gaining the types of skills expected of any entry-level environment artist assigned to a AAA game or startup project.
This paper explains the evolution of the development setup that powers Fortnite and other titles in the Epic Games catalog, the reasons behind this setup, and the details of its implementation.
This white paper lays out the process of working with real-time hair and fur in Unreal Engine and offers solutions to artistic and technical challenges that artists might encounter.
Tiny indie studio Moving Pieces, creators of Dodo Peak and Shoulders of Giants, join us to share their journey into game development, including what it was like to start a project with zero programming experience, how to work effectively as a small team, and how they overcame technical pitfalls on a tight deadline.
This is the first in a series of in-depth live presentations on Inside Unreal introducing the features of Unreal Engine 5 Early Access. Join us as, together with Epic’s engineering directors, we take a look at what’s new, what’s changed, and what’s to come.