14 DAY TRIAL // Epic Games surprised a lot of gamers when it announced during the Game Developers Conference that it was launching its much-awaited Unreal Engine 4 immediately, offering it to all development teams for a low monthly subscription and for a cut of the profit they made if they eventually released a title that used the technology.
Mike Fricker, a technical director working at the company, tells VG247 that the entire launch process was not just a publicity stunt, but a way to listen to the development community and give it the tools that it needed to progress and create more interesting titles.
He states, “This whole plan comes from our community. And we think with this release we’ve figured out that sweet spot for what the developers asked for. I wouldn’t say that we’re targeting indie or anything like that, but we’re trying to increase our spectrum of things we can support without sacrificing anything on the high end.”
Apparently, Epic Games had some plans for a more accessible suite of development tools since the days of Unreal Engine 3, but the core architecture of the system did not allow them to create a smaller version that could be used by indie teams for fast and reliable development.
The fact that Unreal Engine 4 was based on an entirely new set of technical concepts means that the developers have had the opportunity to create an experience that is more accessible and can be easily understood by a wide variety of game makers.
Fricker also makes it clear that the deal included in the new subscription model is very generous and that Epic only makes money from a title if it has a truly successful launch.
He explains that, “Previously we had code available to custom source licensees, but now everyone gets the source. Anybody who pays 19 bucks gets the whole engine source. So even if I get to that point where Epic hadn’t added a feature that I need right now, maybe the code community out there has done that. Maybe there’ll be that change that I can get.”
Epic is also implementing a marketplace that will allow studios to exchange content that was made for the Unreal Engine 4, further easing the pressure on small teams.
After the new Epic Games initiative was announced, Crytek reacted by announcing that it was launching a similar initiative for its own CryEngine and that it was not asking for a cut of the profits made by the launched product.