i might have 5 posts on this user, but i have used Unreal Engine since Unreal Engine 4 back at 2014, UE4 was around 20$ per month back then and it changed to free in 2015.
here is some reference too if you need:
- source:
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5
"
-Has the licensing model changed for UE5?
No. Unreal Engine 5 remains free to download, and comes fully loaded and production-ready out of the box,
with every feature and full source code access included.
As was the case for UE4, under the terms of the standard EULA, UE5 is free to use for learning, and for developing
internal projects; it also enables you to distribute many commercial projects without paying any fees to Epic Games,
including custom projects delivered to clients, linear content (such as films and television shows) and any product
that earns no revenue or whose revenue falls below the royalty threshold.
A 5% royalty is due only if you are distributing an off-the-shelf product that incorporates Unreal Engine code
(such as a game) and the lifetime gross revenue from that product exceeds $1 million USD; in this case, the first
$1 million remains royalty-exempt.
"
-
source (old post from 2015, when they announced everything will be free):
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/ue4-is-free
"
-If You Love Something, Set It Free
Unreal Engine 4 is now available to everyone for free, and all future updates will be free!
" -
source
Licensing for non-game indie film makers after 2024 - #3 by srs2112
when the unity disaster happened, Tim sweeney also mentioned on twitter post that
the old license term are never going to be changed for future unreal engine versions.
as in it will stay free if the current license said it is free.
Tim Sweeney is the founder and CEO of Epic Games, and the creator of Unreal Engine.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, made statements during the controversy surrounding Unity’s licensing
changes earlier in 2024 to reassure Unreal Engine users. He affirmed that the Unreal Engine license
terms would not retroactively change and that existing agreements would remain honored for future
versions of the engine. This was highlighted as a contrast to Unity’s backlash-inducing retroactive
modifications of its pricing model.
- unreal engine is open source software, so basically there is no version defined if you compile a custom
modified version of the engine. all the ue 4 and ue 5 sources are under the same terms.
I hope this helps 