Deciding on what game engine to use for your project can be challenging. There are many options, and each one has its strengths and weaknesses. In this blog post, we will compare Unity 3D Engine vs. Unreal Game Engine to help you make the best decision for your project!
Comparing Unity 3D and Unreal
A game engine is a software program that provides the core functionality for making a video game. It handles things like rendering graphics, animating characters, and playing audio files.
What is the Unity Engine and its History?
Unity Technologies was founded in 2004 by David Helgason, Joachim Ante, and Nicholas Francis. The company’s original goal was to develop a game engine that small independent developers could use.
The Unity engine was first released in 2005, and it has come a long way since then. Today, Unity is used by millions of developers around the world to create games, apps, and experiences. Well-known examples include Monument Valley, Pokémon GO, and Super Mario Run.
Unity is a cross-platform engine that can be used to create games for various platforms, including PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Xbox One, and PlayStation. It is also used to create interactive experiences, AR and VR for the web.
One of Unity’s key strengths is its ease of use. It is a very intuitive engine, making it a good choice for beginners. Unity also has a large community of developers who are happy to help with questions and problems.
What is the Unreal Engine and its History?
Unreal Engine was first developed by Tim Sweeney and Epic Games in 1998. The first version was released in early 1999. The Unreal Engine is a powerful game engine that has been used to create some of the most popular games in recent years, including Fortnite, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Gears of War.
It is a cross-platform engine that can be used to create games for PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation, iOS, Android, and the web. One of the Unreal Engine’s key strengths is its ability to create high-quality visuals. It has been used to create some stunning games with incredibly realistic graphics.
Unreal Engine is not relatively as easy to use as Unity, but it is still relatively straightforward. There is also a large community of developers who are happy to help with questions and problems.
What are the Unity and Unreal Engine for?
Unity and Unreal Engine are both game engines, which means that they provide the tools necessary to create games. They both offer a range of features that allow you to create games of all types and genres.
Some of the core features offered by Unity and Unreal Engine include:
- A physics engine to control movement
- Sound
- A rendering engine for 2D and 3D graphics
- Scripting
- Animation
- Artificial intelligence
- Networking
- Streaming
- Memory management
- VR tools
- Support for both 2D games and 3D games
Head-to-Head comparison!
| Parameter | Unity | Unreal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unity is a runtime and development environment for games from the San Francisco-based company Unity Technologies. Target game platforms include PCs as well as game consoles, mobile devices and web browsers. | Game engine from Epic Games used in the development of console and computer games. Since its first release in 1998, the game engine has been used in numerous games and ported to various operating systems and game consoles. |
| Developed by | Unity Technologies | Epic Games |
| Programming Languages | It uses C# for development. | It uses C++ for development. |
| Usages | Target game platforms include PCs as well as game consoles, mobile devices and web browsers. | Target game platforms include PCs as well as game consoles, mobile devices and web browsers. |
| Source Code | The source code is not open-source. | The source code is open-source. |
| Pricing | If more than $200,000 in revenue or funds have been recorded in the past 12 months, please use Unity Pro or Enterprise. | Free of charge – also commercially – up to a revenue of $1,000,000. After that, a share of 5% of the gross revenue generated by a product within a quarter must be paid to Epic Games |
| Learning Curve | Unity allows you to see early results with a great learning curve. Also Unity supports Bolt, a visual scripting solution. Use Bolt to develop and work on your application without having to write code. | In a nutshell, Unreal learning curve is a skyscraper. Mostly because of the programming language C++, which has a huge learning curve itself. But Unreal has also a visual scripting language called Blueprint. |
| Graphics | Prefer 2D: 2D games can be made with both game engines. Unity is much better at 2D. In addition, up to 60% of the 2D games on the market have been developed with Unity. | Prefer 3D: Both game engines reveal very good graphics when it comes to 3D. However, Unreal can be much better at this, but requires PCs with higher comput pwoer. |
Final Thoughts: So, which Engine is right for you?
Well, it depends on your needs and budget. If you prefer C# and do not want to develop an AAA game, Unity is probably the better choice. It is easy to use and has a large community of developers who can help you out.
However, Unreal Engine is a good option if you need more power and flexibility. It has some of the best graphics capabilities out there, and it is used by some of the most successful game developers in the world.