By Convrse AI in 3D Game Development — Jan 22, 2024

Unity vs Unreal: Everything You Need to Know in 2024

Marvel or DC, Messi or Ronaldo, Unity or Unreal - topics that have divided people for years. In this article, we’ll try to separate facts from feelings and give you an objective view of where both the platforms stand today on a variety of parameters

unity vs unreal: the better game engine

Marvel or DC, Messi or Ronaldo, Unity or Unreal - topics that have divided people for years. There’s enough said about both Unity and Unreal but the more you know, the less it seems. In this article, we’ll try to separate facts from feelings and give you an objective view of where both the platforms stand today on a variety of parameters.

Unity vs Unreal: Barrier to Entry

Software beginners appreciate drag-and-drop functionality, clear layouts, coding-free logic creation/easy coding and pre-made templates - all that Unity does better. C# (Unity’s programming language) has simpler syntax and code structure and automated memory management unlike C++ used in Unreal. Availability of free versions ensure small studios and indie developers can build and ship games faster in Unity as compared to Unreal where you have to pay from the get-go.

Barrier to Entry	Unity	Unreal
Visually intuitive	Drag-and-drop, clear layouts	Feature abundance
Programming language	C# is easier for beginners	C++ has a steeper learning curve
Free or paid	Free versions available	Free version not available
Resources	Plenty of templates, modules premade assets available	Comparatively fewer resources available
2D game support	Supports 2D & 3D games	Only supports 3D games

The winner: Unity wins when it comes to the barrier to entry as it is easier and faster for a complete beginner to follow modular instructions and a predefined framework.

Unity Vs Unreal: Graphics Achievability

It’s possible to achieve greater visual fidelity in Unreal than in Unity with lesser effort. Unreal engine allows developers to achieve visually stunning and realistic environments especially because of features like Lumen for ray tracing and Nanite for virtualized geometry.

Graphics Achievability	Unity	Unreal
AAA games	Unity may struggle with complex physics simulations, large open worlds, and advanced rendering techniques demanded by AAA games	Unreal offers advanced lighting, foliage, and material capabilities, ideal for hyper realistic environments and characters suited to AAA games.
Art style	Unity works well for stylized assets which are not as realistic	Unreal lighting and effects help build realistic, immersive, open worlds
Target platform	Unity is good for prototyping and mobile experiences that don’t require high performance	Experiences for PCs and consoles are best created on Unreal

The Winner: Unreal wins the graphic achievability war as it can create graphics of higher visual fidelity for larger-than-life experiences associated with gaming, architectural visualization and entertainment. Unity works better for mobile games and game jams where there is no inherent need for greater graphic achievability.

Unity Vs Unreal: Level of Control

Unreal Engine is first and foremost a game engine, whereas Unity is more of a scriptable collection of frameworks that can be used to make games. Hence, the kind of control you get with Unreal far surpasses that with Unity.

Customization	Unity	Unreal
Source code access	Unity's core engine code is not public and users don't have direct access to modify it. Only enterprises can access source code for debugging purposes, but it is very costly.	Unreal allows access to its C++ source code. All users can view, modify and recompile the code for projects under a license.
Distribution and Commercial use	Unity restricts external sharing of modified code	Unreal also restricts external sharing of modified code but allows internal use in commercially released games with the appropriate license.
Impact on performance	Decompiled unity code also often lack details like comments, clear variable/function names, impacting performance and user-friendliness	Since you directly modify the source code in Unreal, performance concerns are tied to your programming skills and optimization practices rather than tool’s limit.

The Winner: Unreal engine wins the customization battle as it gives greater control over the source code for free and also allows developers to build and submit games based on modified code with ease.

Unity Vs Unreal: Community & Documentation

Unity is the older platform of the two and known for its active, supportive community and plenty of free assets. Unreal, on the other hand, doesn’t have as active a community as Unity.

Community	Unity	Unreal
Documentation	Comprehensive and user-friendly documentation in text and video, actively updated and maintained by Unity developers	Maintains ‘header style’ files, difficult to understand. Documentation is updated less frequently by Unreal developers
Support	Helpful official forums, numerous guides, tutorials, blogs across website and discord	A more active Discord community than anything else for real-time assistance and open dialogue.
Free Assets	A larger and more diverse Asset Store including models, textures, materials, scripts, and sound effects.	Difficulty finding diverse asset types compared to Unity's larger pool.

The Winner: Unity is the winner as it offers clear documentation, better community support and is rated highly for support and community for beginners, which is when you need the most help.

Unity Vs Unreal: Payment & Monetization

Monetization	Unity	Unreal
Pricing plans	Available in 3 option plans- personal, plus and pro.	Completely free engine with no paid versions
Royalties	Royalties for successful games (>200,000 installs & $200,000 revenue)	5% revenue share royalty on all published games, no minimums. No royalties until exceeding $1 million annual revenue threshold
Flexibility	Unity is good for predictable success and high download volumes	Unreal is better for fluctuating income/unpredictable success which is the story of most creators
Transparency	Unity has a complex install-based payment plan, difficult to navigate	Unreal charges a flat fee and hence is more transparent

The Winner: Unreal is the winner when it comes to long-term monetization of content as it offers better greater flexibility, and more transparency. Also, Unreal has always offered fair and transparent information of its monetization plans.

Unity Vs Unreal: Features & Ratings

Key Features	Unity	Unreal
Cross-Platform Support	Supports windows, MAC, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch	Supports Windows, MAC, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia
VR/AR/	Some advanced VR features like foveated rendering and multi-resolution shading require additional plugins or scripting knowledge.	Provides built-in support for foveated rendering, world streaming, performance optimization and immersion..
AI support	Limited AI support	Advanced AI support with behavior trees
Capterra rating	4.6/5	4.8/5
G2 Rating	4.6/5	4.5/5
Reddit community	3.6L+ followers	2.4L+ Followers

Our Recommendation:

Why choose Unity:

-You are a beginner

-It's easier to learn with simple UI and C# programming.

-Ideal for 2D mobile games and cross-platform releases.

-Free version available, royalty-free for small studios.

-Unity-based game development jobs are more in number

Why Choose Unreal:

-You enjoy a challenge and are excited by a steeper learning curve and powerful features.

-You can prioritize stunning graphics and advanced effects.

- You want to learn C++ programming and Unreal workflow for long-term employability

- You want to work for big and established studios that use C++ or Unreal for their game development.

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