So you come to a game development company with an excellent game idea and expect to immerse yourself in the breathtaking gaming experience any time soon.
Not so fast…
Technical details come first and the very first choice you need to make here is choosing a game engine. As Unreal Engine 4 and Unity are growing more and more competitive, the choice becomes more difficult to make.
Let us walk you through the main advantages and drawbacks of Unreal Engine 4 and Unity and the key considerations you need to take into account when deciding what game engine is more suitable for your project.
Unity or Unreal Engine 4: An Overview
Both Unity and Unreal can boast bringing to life a variety of world-class games you have definitely heard about. Namely, Unity has powered Pokemon Go, Angry Birds Epic, Battlestar Galactica Online, Assassin’s Creed: Identity, Kerbal Space Program, and Wasteland 2, while Unreal stands behind Mortal Kombat X, Batman: Arkham City, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, BioShock Infinite, Gears of War 3, and Mass Effect 2.
For years, Unity has been beating Unreal due to its extensive visual effects and the ability to create powerful gameplay logic and animation graphs without additional plugins. However, in 2014, Epic Games made a dramatic move releasing Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) that had its complete C++ source code open to developers. The radical step made the engine an equal competitor to Unity, which remained conservative in this regard.
Unreal Engine 4 has another ace in the hole: it is a true giant when it comes to graphics. Its particle simulation systems, deferred shading, lit translucency, post-processing features, and advanced dynamic lighting provide excellent capabilities to create high-quality 2D and 3D games.
What is more, the engine provides faster rendering while it may sometimes take weeks to render lighting in Unity.
Still, Unity might be a better choice for the development of simpler games that don’t require the next-generation graphics. Here are the advantages the game engine has to offer:
- Platform support. Unity has better cross-platform integration so that you’ll be able to deploy the game across all major Web, mobile, VR, desktop, console and TV platforms.
- Mobile development. The engine is considered the best fit for mobile gaming app development. What’s more, Unity 3D allows creating mobile games that can be used on the Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, and Gear VR Device.
- Monetization. Unity allows better access to game monetization infrastructure due to the large asset store and multiple plugins.
- Easier and faster programming. The language of Unity – C# – is easier than C++ of UE4, and the overall engine architecture is simpler in Unity, which facilitates and speeds up the process of development. In addition to an easy learning curve, Unity has a large supportive community that is always ready to give fellow developers a helping hand.
Unreal vs Unity for VR Development
AR/VR is definitely the future of gaming. Thus, it is important to look at the VR tools Unity and Unreal Engine 4 have on offer.
In Unity’s 3D asset store, you can find a wide range of 2D and 3D models, SDKs, templates and other VR tools including a powerful editor to create VR assets and a VR toolkit. What’s more, you can choose not to develop a character from scratch but simply pick one from a store too. Last but not least, Unity is known for its excellent documentation: VR best practices, tutorials and live training sessions on specific topics or tools.
Unreal Engine 4, too, has a store to go to for free and paid VR tools: animations, blueprints, props, environments, architectural visualization, and much more. One of the tools VR developers love is the Blueprint visual scripting tool, which allows the fast creation of prototypes. Compared to Unity, UE4 doesn’t have such extensive documentation. Nonetheless, it also has a supportive community to refer to for help and advice.
What Game Engine to Choose: Key Consideration Points
Despite the hectic battle unreal engine 4 vs unity, the most popular choice will not always be the best choice for your game. Thus, before falling for one of the game engines, consider the following aspects:
- What kind of game you want to create
Unity is an excellent choice for simple puzzle games, 3D platformer video games, as well as first-person shooters. For AAA video games and ambitious gaming projects that will be launched on a global scale, Unreal Engine 4 might be a better choice.
- On which platform you will deploy it
As mentioned earlier, Unity supports more platforms and is better suited for iOS and Android game development. Although Unreal Engine 4 supports many platforms too, note it will be not available on Windows Phone 8, Tizen, Android TV and Samsung Smart TV, Web Player, and PlayStation Vita.
- Your budget and release expectations
If you have a limited budget and want your app to see the world as soon as possible, you should better stick with Unity. In addition to a larger pool of developers and a faster development process, Unity presupposes fewer issues when submitting game assets to the store. However, if you are ready to make a solid investment into a game that will gain a world-wide reputation, Unreal Engine 4 is sure to be worth it.
- Your game monetization strategy
In-game ads are supported by both engines, but Unity seems to provide better support in terms of game monetization. In fact, Unity names its Unity Monetization SDK 3.0. a revolutionizing solution that allows monetizing with banners and AR formats and has a smart Personalized Placement engine that helps to grow revenues while also increasing gamers’ retention. Regarding the monetization of Unreal Engine 4 games, it is worth mentioning that once your game starts monetizing and your revenues exceed $3,000 per quarter, you will have to pay 5% royalties according to the License Agreement.
- The importance of graphics for your project success
If you are looking for excellent graphics, you need to go for Unreal Engine 4. However, there are many ingredients to a successful game, and graphics is just one of them. If you are not sure your game has a compelling story, major investments into Unreal Engine development might not prove justified.
Concluding Ideas
The game development market is growing and the industry revenues are expected to surpass 138 billion by 2021. With excellent solutions like Unity or Unreal Engine 4, investing in game development might be more luring than ever. No matter what game engine turns out a winner for you, make sure it powers an original and exciting game you yourself will love playing.
Did we miss something? If you have any extra tips, please share them in the comments below.
