Is Unreal Engine 5 free or not? I’ve read places it’s totally free, but then I’ve read other places that you have to pay for it under certain conditions?
It’s free up to the first million dollars in sales, then a 5% royalty after that. Is Unreal Engine 5 Free?
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To add to the previous answer, there are also some project that don’t require you to pay any royalties.
From the EULA ( 3. How You Can Share Products You’ve Made with the Licensed Technology )
You will not owe us any royalty payments for Distributing Products that (i) do not include any Engine Code, (ii) do not require any Engine Code to run and (iii) do not include Starter Content in source format (“Non-Engine Products ”) to any person or entity.
This means, for example, you will not owe us royalties for Distributing:
● rendered video files (e.g., broadcast or streamed video files, cartoons, movies, or images) created using the Engine Code (even if the video files include Starter Content) or
● asset files, such as character models and animations, other than Starter Content, that you developed using the Engine Code, including in Products that use or rely on other video game engines.Please note that certain assets that we make available under separate agreement are available for use only with Unreal Engine.
In short, creating movies or assets, as well as internal/personal projects will not generate royalties.