For many years now, Unreal Engine has been the complete suite to develop amazing games. It has been attracting developers of all types with its wide range of game development tools. With the launch of its latest version it also supports building VR games and editing 360 degrees photos and videos.
The Unreal Engine 4 was launched a year ago, in March 2014, but, although it is the most advanced development kit since 1998, when the first version was created, did not cause the expected reaction by Epic.
Because, in its previous version, Unreal Engine 3 has brought many new graphics capabilities and partnerships with giant brands of hardware such as PhysX , Nvidia.
In order to increase their audience, Epic decided to start releasing the engine for developers, for a monthly fee of $ 19. There was a period in which the kit was also released to students, and to make it accessible to everyone and increase its popularity, the company finally released the free license a year ago.
Of course, somehow, Epic Games need to profit from the distribution of the EU4. For this, the company asks 5% of the values obtained from the sale of any product that uses the engine, provided that they exceed $ 3,000.
This means that for students and hobbyists who want to just serve their creations internally without necessarily put them on sale, it’s all free, but if you create a game you must pay a royalty of 5% over the profit raised by product.
“You can download the engine and use it for anything from the development of games, education, architecture and views for virtual reality devices, films and animations.
If you are also planning on getting a VR headset you should check out our virtual reality devices comparison, an in-depth review we composed recently.
When you sell a game or application, pay 5% royalty for each product on the gross sales above $ 3,000 per quarter. It is a simple way that we will succeed only when you succeed, “says the official website.
Even there is no injustice to those who paid for the development kit earlier, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, warns: “Anyone who has already paid for the license of the EU4 will receive a $ 30 credit that can be used in Unreal Engine Marketplace “.
It is worth mentioning that all program updates, from now on, will also be free. The free license supports the creation of games for any platform: iOS, Android, SteamOS, Windows, Mac OS, Web(HTML5 ), Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
For all of you geeks out there if you have wanted to develop your own VR games, Unreal engine 4 can help you get started for real.
But because you need to have a VR device connected while developing you could get a Samsung Gear VR or HTC Vive or Oculus Rift right now by visiting our virtual reality headsets review article. Make sure you also check out Mr. Tom Looman’s tutorials on VR.
Download from here.