Hey Folks!
We’ve just spotted the UE4 announcements and had a quick read through some of the stuff. It seems like UE4 is featuring a new licensing model, and we were wondering wether this also applies to users of the exisiting version of UDK (the UE3 one).
So ya, does the original UDK still use the old licensing model -> or will it be changing over the UE4 style model.
Would love some feedback from someone at Epic, cheers!
UDK Will remain the same, for UE4 you have the option to use the same licensing or move to the new system. For small developers the UDK licensing scheme makes the most sense because you can save on the first $50,000 so if your profits are around that then it’s good. If you’ve already made that much on UDK or you have a very successful project then the 5% royalty is much better.
Are you an existing UDK subscriber? Asking as you should’ve received an email about this. Here is the snippet from it:
CHOOSE YOUR UDK ROYALTY TERMS
UE4 subscribers can release games commercially by paying 5% of gross revenue from product sales to users (regardless of who collects the revenue). With this model, a game that sells to users on the App Store for $10 would incur a royalty of $0.50 (5% of $10), while you as the developer might receive $7 from Apple (after Apple deducts their 30% distribution fee).
For many developers, the UE4 royalty structure will be less expensive than the UDK royalty structure (which was: no royalty on the first $50,000 of earnings, and $25% of your revenue thereafter).
Therefore, we’re offering UDK developers the choice of paying royalties under either model for products built with UDK. Pick whichever is most favorable to you, and you can apply it to all UDK product revenue from January 1, 2014 onward. Feel free to email udk-licensing@epicgames.com if you have any questions.
That answered all of our questions, cheers for the quick response! 