I was excited to see the new Studio Multi User Viewer which is almost exactly the framework I was about to write for part of a UE4 project I am developing. There is even a great built in capability to add this studio feature to an existing project. However having read the T&Cs for studio it would appear that my game becomes a “Studio Product”. As a studio product it looses the ability to be distributed except to a “single third party for which you specifically developed the Studio Product in exchange for consultation fees” or for free.
It would seem inevitable that game developers operating under the usual UE4 5% royalty basis will want to make use of Studio capabilities. The two worlds are not separate, To take my specific example my project is to develop an accurate visualisation of a 10th century town. I expect I will need to charge a nominal fee to cover hosting costs.
Is anyone else facing the same issue and is there any expectation that Epic will update the licence terms to make it possible to use studio capabilities for products intended for wider, non-free, distribution?