Licensing and Royalties for packaged Architectural "Games"

Hi all

I’ve read the licensing policies as well as the custom licensing policies and I want to make sure I’m understanding it correctly.

Can I use UNREAL 4 in this scenario:
I purchase a subscription plan lets say for example for 3 months so that I can learn the package and put together 1 project which I will build in 3ds Max. The project is for example something that has been commisioned to me by my client of lets say a 2 bedroom apartment. The client wants to be able to walk around in this apartment in realtime. I would then package the project and give it to the client so that he can walk around in this architectural space just like you would walk around in a game.

So as far as I understand I do not have to pay royalties for something like this and my client don’t have to pay any subscription and also no royalties.

All I pay is the 3 month subscription and all my client pays is whatever I charged him to do the work.

Is my understanding correct?

yup, arch viz is royalty free :slight_smile:

Thats great. Thats why I love Epic. They really awesome.

This is a really great opportunity. This epic guys are also crazy!

but you have to pay once 5% of what the client pays you to epic.

No, you don’t. This 5% IS royalty payments.

From FAQ:
Are any revenue sources royalty-free?
No royalties are due on the following:

  • Ancillary products, including t-shirts, CDs, plushies, action figures and books. The exception is items with embedded data or information, such as QR codes, that affect the operation of the product.
  • Consulting and work-for-hire services using the engine.** This applies to architects using the engine to create visualizations as well as consultants receiving a development fee.**
  • Linear media, including movies, animated films and cartoons distributed as video.
  • Cabinet-based arcade games and amusement park rides.
  • Truly free games and apps (with no associated revenue).

oh thanks, i didnt knew that - so everything you did “work-for-hire” is free then? So lets asume the following 2 cases:

  1. i do an technical experience for a client, wich they want to use inhouse and maybe on public events
  2. i do an advertisement experience for a client wich they want to share 4 free to the public on their website

both free then?

See, I would like some confirmation from staff. My idea was that a sold product = royalties owed. Renders and flythroughs aren’t selling the software, so that one’s obvious. But if someone is buying a “game” from me that has their architectural visualization as a level, then it feels like I’ve sold them Epic’s software. But I didn’t previously notice that part about arcade games, where it is obviously a sold product but still doesn’t owe royalties.

So if I sold an ArchiViz app on the Appstore for $0.99, I owe 5%.
If I sold the ArchViz app to a client for $10,000, I owe nothing??

That sounds like a darn good deal, which is why I’m cautious.

It sounds like a good deal because it is one :slight_smile:

Note: Your second case is correct if it’s a work-for-hire or consulting situation, but if you were selling the same visualization app for $10k each to multiple different companies then I think it might be subject to royalties at that point (but IANAL). When in doubt, the EULA (Game-Engine-Technologie von Unreal - Unreal Engine) is the definitive legal&binding agreement, there isn’t a separate document later on to execute or anything like that.

Cheers,
Michael Noland

I just want to chime in and say that I think this is absolutely awesome. If you ever feel you need to increase the price for arch viz customers, please increase the price in a way that still makes the engine usable for us; meaning, no royalties and no “per customer percentage-something case deal based on what the company makes”. Instead just raise the monthly cost or add a specific fee for non-games use or work-for-hire use.

Thank you for you awesome engine, Epic!

I’m sorry if I’ve mistaken the topic, but i have a similar question.
If a studio/company made an application in which client can walk through exterior/interior of a house/building and it is sold once to the client for let say $10k. How much money are obligated to Epic? (10k - 3k)*5% = 350$ ?