Epic Video games has introduced a brand new pricing construction for non-game builders to make use of its Unreal Engine, after teasing the change final 12 months. The Fortnite developer will cost an annual “per seat” subscription of $1,850. The time period “per seat” is tech nomenclature that successfully means “an individual utilizing the software program.” These adjustments will go into impact with the discharge of Unreal Engine 5.4 in late April.
Although Unreal Engine is primarily often known as a recreation improvement instrument, it’s commonly utilized in a various array of industries, which is the place this pricing construction is available in. Firms that make linear content material, like TV exhibits and films, must cough up that $1,850 payment, as will organizations that develop in-car infotainment platforms and immersive experiences, like theme park rides. Presently, Epic makes no cash from nearly all of these customers, as the tip merchandise aren’t, as Sweeney put it final 12 months, “royalty-bearing.”
The annual payment offers these customers with entry to the Unreal Engine itself, the Twinmotion real-time visualization instrument and the corporate’s RealityCapture 3D modeling software program. Nonetheless, organizations should purchase standalone licenses for every. Twinmotion will value $445 per 12 months and RealityCapture will value $1,250 annually.
There are some exclusions right here. Firms that make lower than $1 million in annual gross income gained’t should pay the payment. The identical goes for college kids, educators and hobbyists. Firms that develop plug-ins for the Unreal Engine can proceed to make use of the software program without cost, however Epic will take a minimize by way of its income share mannequin.
Epic’s actual bread and butter, recreation builders, will proceed to have entry to Unreal Engine without cost, solely paying a 5 % royalty on software program that earns over $1 million in lifetime gross income. Epic prolonged the royalty-free cutoff from $50,000 to $1 million again in 2020.
