Developing games in the olden days required much time, and game developers had to put in a lot of effort and work day and night to create a basic game framework.
It took time to design a simple structure since the code had to be written from scratch, and adding a particular element, such as sunlight or rain, had to be made from scratch. This is where game engines get introduced. Today’s game creators don’t have to worry about the physics or lighting of a game because gaming engines take care of these things.
So now we could wonder what these game engines are. Think of it this way: a sculptor has to create something; therefore, to bring his vision to life, he needs specific tools like a hammer, points, and brushes. Similarly, a gaming engine provides some pre-built tools to developers. A gaming engine is a framework for simplifying and accelerating game development. Technically, it takes care of the heavy-duty aspects like graphics, physics, sounds, artificial intelligence, player’s action or input, and multiple others.
According to HeroVired, a company for educating people about multiple industries, in 2020, the global gaming market was worth 203.13 billion USD. The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the entire industry. According to different market research agencies and multiple reports, the worldwide gaming market showcased a massive growth of 38.24% in 2020. Furthermore, it is projected to grow to 545.98 billion USD in 2028.
These financial values lead us to gaming engines again. Numerous gaming engines today enable developers to quickly jump in and construct the game they want. For example, the big players are Unreal Engine, Unity, GameMaker, CryEngine, and Godot. But the go-to and most famous engines are Unreal Engine and Unity. Most developers opt for these two engines for their features, simplicity, and reliability. Developing games with the best engines can create massive profits for the developers and the companies which make the engines.
Underneath all the companies in the market, a specific company is trying to democratize the industry by ensuring that all developers get a chance to make games without feeling the pressure of financial aspects. Unreal Engine is free of charge and only charges a minimum royalty of 5% once the game’s revenue passes US$1 million in gross revenue. This is absurd because their tools are costly and time-consuming to build in-house.
On the other hand, Unity is giving a free version that lacks some tools, but it can be upgraded to the complete version by paying US$1,500 per year or US$75 per month, which can burden starting developers who are new to the industry.
Unreal Engine provides an open source code, easing the development process, whereas Unity and some other companies do not provide an open source code, and one has to buy them. In terms of graphics, developers seem to like Unreal Engine more. Unreal Engine also sports multiplatform development. Epic Games, the developer of Unreal Engine, made record-breaking games that shocked the world, such as Fortnite, Rocket League, Infinity Blade series, and Hitman 3.
Currently, Unreal Engine unveiled its latest version, the Unreal Engine 5. This engine’s graphics, texture, and AI capabilities are praised highly. A few games that use this engine are Unrecord, Project M, Anime Tokyo, Atlas Fallen, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. These big AAA titles are utilizing the new capabilities of the engine. The engine is providing promising results and is attracting players on a vast scale.
Unity is also making headlines for its simplistic and user-friendly approach. It uses C#, which is in demand for current games; hence, Unreal Engine isn’t the sole player in the market driving policy. Still, there is a risk with the new version and the loyalty policies of the engine; Unreal is most likely to take over the wheel and will plan to keep it.
