The Problem As a solo developer working in UEFN, the current state of Unreal Revision Control (URC) is a major bottleneck for growth. URC is currently an all or nothing system. If I want to hire a specialist to help with a specific part of my island, such as a Verse coder, a terrain artist, or a prop designer, I have to give them full access to my entire project repository.
This creates a massive security risk and a high barrier to entry for the commission culture that makes other creative platforms thrive. We need a way to hire talent without giving away the keys to the entire project.
Proposed Solution: Granular Contributor Scopes
We need a permission-based layer within URC that allows the Project Owner to define exactly what a team member can see and do.
Folder Level Restrictions and Import Only Access Owners should be able to designate a specific folder where the collaborator has Write access. Everywhere else should be Read Only by default. This allows them to see the environment for context without being able to move or edit existing assets.
Anti-Migration and Export Locks We need a Lock Intellectual Property toggle for the project owner. This would disable the Migrate and Bulk Export functions for any user marked as a Contributor. They should only be able to export assets that they personally imported during that session.
Creator Ownership Deletion Logic Contributors should only be allowed to delete assets that they themselves have checked into URC. This prevents a hired artist from accidentally or intentionally wiping out the main map landscape or core blueprints.
Spatial Workspaces (Island Zoning) This would be a game changer: the ability to define a Permission Volume in the viewport. A collaborator would only be able to select, move, or place actors within these specific coordinates. If I hire someone to build a specific arena, I should be able to lock them into that specific zone so they do not touch the rest of my island.
Why this matters for UEFN The creator economy thrives when solo devs can scale safely. If I cannot protect my custom assets and Verse code, I am forced to do everything myself, which slows down the quality and frequency of map releases.
By implementing these security features, Epic would empower a massive wave of collaboration, allowing us to hire freelancers with total peace of mind. This is essential for the growth of the platform.
Is anyone else holding back on hiring help because of these risks? I would love to hear from other solo devs on how you are managing this currently.
I think the current setup assumes that one will only work with trusted people. You’re sharing the project assets with them, and they will share their work with you. They trust that you’ll pay them a salary at the end of the month, their revenue share, or whatever else you agreed on.
If I really cannot trust someone, I will simply not give them access to the project. They can do their work on their empty project and get paid when they are ready to deliver (by transferring their project ownership/work).
That said, I totally agree with your proposal. It will make collaboration a lot easier. I would also like Epic to support a way to share revenue through them. For example, creators can agree on the percentage each gets for a selected period and lock it. Epic then distributes the revenue following the agreement once the project is released. I need to explain this proposal in a separate post, though.
Hey @EXI5T_Chillz and @FragileNucleusGames. I’m Garren from the URC team. Just wanted to say thanks so much for this detailed feedback.
While nuanced permissions with in a project/repository are not on the near-term roadmap, its great to know that its of value to creators, so we can consider it in future planning.
It’d be great to discuss these needs/ideas you’ve outlined a bit further if you’re open to it at some point?
Hi, Garren!
Thank you for your input. I think something similar to Virtual Streams (shown in this YouTube video) will address some of what was requested here. There is no rush. Just wanted to point that out.
@EXI5T_Chillz
We already have One File per Actor/Entity which should allow locking the level/map expect the area that should be edited. Also, we have the option to keep files checked out after a check in to prevent others from editing our assigned area in the level. Maybe these features can help you for the time being.
Thanks for reaching out! It is great to see the URC team engaging directly with the community on this.
While I understand it may not be on the immediate roadmap, I believe these features are the “missing link” for scaling the UEFN ecosystem. As a solo developer, the ability to hire specialized talent without risking the safety of my project’s intellectual property or core logic is what will truly allow the commission culture to thrive.
I would absolutely love to discuss these ideas further. I am happy to share more specific use cases from a creator’s perspective.
Thanks for the suggestion and the video! One File per Actor (OFPA) is a lifesaver in standard Unreal Engine for preventing merge conflicts.
However, it’s important to clarify that OFPA and advanced locking features are currently not available or exposed in UEFN in the way they are for UE5 via Perforce. While UEFN uses a similar “under the hood” logic for handling actors, we as creators don’t have the granular “Check Out” or “Lock” controls that you see in that video.
More importantly, my proposal is about Security and IP Protection, not just concurrency. Even if we could lock a level to prevent two people from moving the same chair, it wouldn’t stop a collaborator from right-clicking a proprietary asset in the Content Browser and hitting “Migrate” or “Bulk Export.”
For a solo dev, we need a hard technical barrier that says: “User X can only see and work in Folder A, and they are blocked from exporting anything from Folder B.”
The goal is to move beyond “honor system” collaboration and toward a professional, secure environment where we can hire freelancers without the risk of our custom assets or Verse code being leaked or stolen.
Maybe I am misunderstanding, but I think we can indeed check out specific assets in Unreal Revision Control which locks the assets for other contributes. The fact that we have OFPA means that parts of the level can be locked as needed (by different contributors). You can refer to this documentation page for more information. If I understand correctly, this partially addresses your request. Obviously, things can always be improved if the workflow is not ideal. Please let me know if I am mistaken.
I definitely agree with you. The video I shared was one suggestion for how this can be done. The feature is called Virtual Streams in Perforce. If we get something like it in URC with a bit of extra work, it can address the IP concerns that you and I share.
When working with other companies, I typically have to sign a contract and an NDA which act as a legal binding to prevent leaking unreleased details about the project (among other things). Obviously, if the tools provide hard protection, it will definitely be better.