Why Is Unreal Free?

[Shadowriver]

I remember lot of people complained that it’s hard to make game moddable because editor was not only paid, but monthly paid (when game updates engine version you lose ability to mod without subscription), there was a lot of voices like aspecially in UT community. UE4 being free solves that.

[TechLord]

@hurleyboarder;234417

OK, so how many of you may have seen, Unreal Engine 4 is now free (Mainly Because Of The Money Being Made On The Marketplace Now). To a lot this idea seems , but to me it seems like this will turn Epics name into a joke like Unity name is now. The great thing about the $19 a month, and no free plans was that people who were on the forums were serious about game development, and that is the difference between Unity and Unreal. Now that it is free I expect soon to see the forms page having a lot of immature posts like Unity’s. That isn’t the only problem I see although, the other issue is that ever since Unity has become free so many games have been releasing that are either incomplete or stupid, and has made PC gaming a joke and most people always blame Unity for this (although it is not their fault). I just don’t want Epic to fall the same way.

No need for concern. The Forum Community is self-regulated and justly moderated. The community will assist in the growth of the immature. Additionally, there is an Off Topic Forum section to post Anything and Everything Else - Breakfast Cereals, Movies, Who Was The Best Batman? I will continue to support Epic w/ $19/mo to purchase content from the marketplace.

[qdelpeche]

@TechLord;234645

No need for concern. The Forum Community is self-regulated and justly moderated. The community will assist in the growth of the immature. I will continue to support Epic w/ $19/mo to purchase content from the marketplace.

Pretty much exactly how I see it and how I will continue to support it.

Whether Epic has made a good or bad business decisions … only time will tell … I for one am excited at the prospect. I see it as large organisations like Epic seeing that the Indie Game Development movement is the future of Game Development.

I might be naive … I might be completely wrong … But I am not going to stop what I am doing. 8-}

[hurleyboarder]

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I now have a better view on the situation.

[anonymous_user_28ee11f4]

i paid for mine 3 days ago, bit ****** off now. But anyhow free or paid it will not change my plans. As long as they do not let the marketplace fill up with rubbish.

[Icaraeus]

@jrushpixel;234666

i paid for mine 3 days ago, bit ****** off now. But anyhow free or paid it will not change my plans. As long as they do not let the marketplace fill up with rubbish.

Did you receive $30 marketplace credit? I just bought a license 3 weeks ago and then this happens, although at least I have something I can put towards if something decent comes out on the marketplace that takes too much time to make or is beyond my ability.

[Michael_Noland]

@jrushpixel;234666

i paid for mine 3 days ago, bit ****** off now. But anyhow free or paid it will not change my plans. As long as they do not let the marketplace fill up with rubbish.

In addition to the marketplace credit, anyone who paid for a subscription after January 31st will get a pro-rated credit for the subscription fee as well.

Cheers,
Noland

[anonymous_user_26d94d8e]

Now who is acting immature? Most of you now acting like kids and calling each other trolls.
Remember when UE4 wasn’t a thing there was UDK which was FREE to download.
I wasn’t at forums, but I doubt there were there kids around the forums…

[Icaraeus]

@Noland;234678

In addition to the marketplace credit, anyone who paid for a subscription after January 31st will get a pro-rated credit for the subscription fee as well.

Cheers,
Noland

Hi ,

Can you please clarify what you mean by pro-rated credit as part of paying for a subscription license for the engine? I paid for Unreal Engine 4 I think it was on February 8th.

[Havoc]

@hurleyboarder;234528

It isn’t a complaint as much as a topic of debate. I understand the scenario you depicted because that was me 4 years ago, and yes in that case I totally agree, but even 30 year old can put out a game that is garbage and they know it. I know a lot of good games can come out of this just like what came out of Unity, but their will also be a lot of garbage, and I care because it effects the market a lot, just look how E.T. collapsed the entire industry, although I do understand into today’s world of living the gaming market is 1000X stronger.

E.T didn’t collapse the industry - it the massive cash grab that incited E.T, and the games like E.T, that lead to the demise of video games in the 80’s.

I think that as a community, we should help wherever and whenever possible. If Tim Sweeney and the rest of Epic & Co can spend their free time answering questions from absolute beginners, you can do it too! I hate to imagine harboring an “us vs them” mentality, when really it’s just us - we’re all unreal engine developers, that’s it, and that’s why we’re here.
UDK existed as a free alternative to a stand alone UE3 license, and great games from both platforms were eventually released - Unity existed at the time, and there were some great games released with Unity as well.

Look at the Completed Projects section of the forum, and the Works In Progress, and imagine how much cool stuff we’re going to see once people really start getting involved - can you imagine how much talent is out there that was being limited due to monetary restrictions? I, for one, am excited at the prospect of a larger, more diverse community.

[Michael_Noland]

@;234687

Hi ,

Can you please clarify what you mean by pro-rated credit as part of paying for a subscription license for the engine? I paid for Unreal Engine 4 I think it was on February 8th.

My guess would be that you’d get the difference between a month and the time since you were last billed for a subscription credited back to you, but I’m not sure of the details. Here is the excerpt from https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/ue4-is-free:

In going free, we’ll be issuing a pro-rated refund to current subscribers for their most recent month’s payment. And, everyone who has ever paid for a UE4 subscription will receive a $30 credit that can be spent in the Unreal Engine Marketplace.

Cheers,
Noland

[Michael_Noland]

On the main subject of the thread, I’m incredibly excited to open UE4 up to a broader audience. We all had to begin our journey somewhere, and UE4 is an amazing place to start. I’m blessed to be able to empower so many other people to express their creativity and passion making games or environments or just toying around with ideas. I can’t wait to see what people make

[Happy Dance]

Cheers,
Noland

[anonymous_user_6c97248c]

Thanks Epic!

[Jezcentral]

UDK didn’t have this problem (anymore than we have it now), so I don’t foresee any problems now UE4 is the same price.

Bring on the newly curious! I look forward to trying to help them.

[Sitrec]

I don’t really think paying $19 once was a big enough hurdle to keep anyone out, I doubt we will see a decline in quality because of it.

[qdelpeche]

@Sitrec;234829

I don’t really think paying $19 once was a big enough hurdle to keep anyone out, I doubt we will see a decline in quality because of it.

I tend to agree with you … but I guess time will tell. 8-}

[anonymous_user_30b41d9f]

Lol you seem one that payed the $19 and now is butthurt. Unity is one of the most used engines they’re community is huge and helpfull for begginers and pros and thats one of the things that make this engine well known! Yes there are brilliant games and games that suck but that’s not their fault! The engine is powerfull enough to compete with unreal in every aspect. Not everyone can afford the tools and people to make AAA games! Also unreal is getting more and more like unity! Asset store asset browser,…

[anonymous_user_a534f2aa]

We’re happy its free, although we would have paid for it if not.

[KITATUS]

@raven555;235226

Lol you seem one that payed the $19 and now is butthurt. Unity is one of the most used engines they’re community is huge and helpfull for begginers and pros and thats one of the things that make this engine well known! Yes there are brilliant games and games that suck but that’s not their fault! The engine is powerfull enough to compete with unreal in every aspect. Not everyone can afford the tools and people to make AAA games! Also unreal is getting more and more like unity! Asset store asset browser,…

Please do not try and incite an argument please! We’re all friends here :>

[qdelpeche]

@raven555: No one here is butthurt … although a lot of us subscribed … Epic has refunded us our last month’s subscription and given us a $30 voucher for the marketplace.

Please refrain from causing any issues on these forums … as KitatusStudios has pointed out. Your 4 posts have been nothing but pushing Unity … if you like Unity so much then I suggest you stick with it and not come and insight troll wars on these forums.

However … I suspect that you are threatened by this move by Epic and that is why you feel it necessary to share your posts … which can only be viewed as nothing more than trolling.

Thank you. Have a nice day. 8-}