Unity 4 license compare with UDK, CRytek, Gamebryo, Unigine, Marmelade,Shiva3D etc...

All these engine can make games on multiple platforms. With Unity 4 and all new platforms each priced $1500 I wanted to just compare objectively the cost of each license for each competitors. Up to you to decide what is best for you.

Unity:
Once was the challenger... supports many platforms with a price of $1500 per platform and no royalties if the source code is not needed.

• $0 upfront for Unity free for commercial games! But limited, splash screen, no shadows, no full screen shaders, etc...
• $3,000 upfront for PC/'MAC/Web + one Mobile Platforms for commercial games, fully featured.
• $6,000 upfront for all platforms PC/MAC + iOS + Android + Flash + Unix + Web .

UDK: http://www.udk.com/licensing
Once was too expensive, but have changed their price to become the most affordable.

1. UDK cost upfront is$0,limited version where you cannot have C++ access and cannot create your own shaders.
2. $99 for commercial project (individual), you can sell up to $50,000 without paying anything to UDK.
3. If you make +$50,000 you give them %25 royalties.

or:

1. UDK cost $0 for non-commercial purpose, limited version, no access to source code, no possible to create your own shaders etc..
2. $2,500 per seat and no royalties to give. That's for PC/MAC/iOS

Crytek: http://mycryengine.com/index.php?conid=43
The best renderer but only PC.No mobile platform yet.

1. $0 upfront for non-commercial project. Cryengine 3 fully featured with no limits.
2. %20 of the sales for commercial projects. That's for PC only.

Gamebryo: http://www.gamebryo.com/licensing.php
Hilton of video games, some say it is a nightmare to work with. But many big companies are using it.

• Very hard to get info about this popular 3d engine. Apparently cost is $250,000 per game. Hum, big companies are using it and it works on XBox, Wii, iOs, Pc, Mac. But apparently they are not interested by Indies.

New Challengers:

UniGine: http://unigine.com/products/unigine/licensing/
Started with a free demo, now this engine has evolved to run on Pc/MAC/Android/iOS/PSX! serious challenger here.

1. Non commercial $0, fully featured.
2. Claim to be average $30,000 per project but I heard some negotiated $3,000 per seat for Indies. They are a small companies, better contact them directly

Shiva 3D: http://www.shivaengine.com/shiva/view-all-products.html
Small company, not too many updates, not polished, but many features and many platforms. Serious challenger here.

1. $200: Basic version limited.
2. $1000 per seat unlimited version. PC/MAC/Unix/iOs/Andoid/Blackberry/Flash 11/Xbox/PS3 (v2 in beta)
3. No royalties!

Note that all license are valid for Shiva 2 that looks very promising. No screw up here.


Marmelade: http://madewithmarmalade.com/buy
Very popular multi-platform engine. Probably more popular than Unity now as many games are released using this very stable engine.

1. $0 for non-commercial. No limits, all platforms.
2. $149 per seat for iOs and Android only. No royalties. Marmelade splash screen limitation.
3. $499 per seat for all platforms (PC/OSX/iOs/Android/Symbian/Blackberry/Bada/LG Smart TV and HTML5!!!)

 

Unity free is for commercial games as well as non-commercial games. It's only the non-commercial student editions and trial versions that are strictly not for commercial use. Also, you forgot the $400 for basic licenses (Flash, iOS, or Android) and $1200 for Mac/PC/Web + iOS + Android + Flash (and Linux coming soon)

 

This isn't a good list at all in my opinion. I wish i could use UDK my computer cant handle it ATM

Everyone complains about the 50,000+ royalty fee but IMO if you make more than 50,000 you wouldn't mind because you should be well on your way to developing another big game/hit game. That is not much of a big deal to me and I would still use UDK to develop commercially and when/if I could afford it I would buy the actual Unreal Engine License

 

Could all you people now please stop with this freaking license thing?!?!?!

No its not, you don't have C++ access and this is terrible, since UScript is nowhere near Unity Script with C#... (feature set alone)

Yeah right. Its like offering a formula one racing car drive for 99$ and if you (because you are really great, no one expected this upfront) make it to the next super market, you get ripped off. This is just a farce. There no successful Indie-Games made with UDK, at least not from indie developers who worry about 1000 EUR Unity license costs. And this won't change.

That's a S***ty trade. Never would I ever trade Unity against UDK 3. Well if UDK 4 was out for 2500 USD they could probably get me , but only if there are no royalties and no important features stripped off. But then again, hardware for UDK 4 needs to be invented first.

Wrong again. CE3 comes with a number of limitations, most importantly you can not have your own shaders. And there are some other more technical limitations I forgot already. Besides CE3 is even harder to get than UDK since it practically has no community and no documentation whatsoever.

Well and your other engines don't really can take up the challenge can they ^^?

BTW CE3 and UDK are totally wrong choice for Indies, even if they were totally free for Indies you would have no fun with them, I can guarantee you this...

 

I guess Unigine isn't that bad if you have a lot of people on the project, but then again it's per project so even if you had 10 guys with Unity licenses at 6k each(every platform), that's 60k, but it's not per project so you can make more games for that cost...

CryEngine is headed into Unity market space. Looking at CryMono, it's almost identical syntax to C# in Unity. But probably years before their documentation is anywhere filled out enough for me to use it at least.

UDK heading full C++ in 4.0, and will probably remain the industry standard for larger games from large studios.

CryMono Raycasting:

Code (csharp):

1. RaycastHit rayHit;
2. var rifleBarrelPosition = new Vec3(12, 50, 128);
3. var numHits = Ray.Cast(rifleBarrelPosition, new Vec3(0, 0, 100), out rayHit);
4. // Check if we hit something
5. if(numHits > 0)
6. {
7.     // Draw a red sphere at the hit point for three seconds
8.     Debug.DrawSphere(hits.Point, 0.3f, Color.Red, 3.0f);
9. }

 

+1 OP, did you not know Unity free can be used for commercial games? Best deal on the market.

 

Oh crap ... I thought Marmelade wasn't an engine, but the real marmelade ...
forget my vote.

It's kind of upsetting to see a new thread about engine comparison every week. If people want that kind of info, or pronostic, there is Google.

 

First of all this is really starting to annoy me everyone claiming UDK's Licensing is a rip off, I'd love to know how? Especially when they give you every feature of their engine up front and only ask you to pay 25% if you make over $50,000 while 25% is a little steep its not unreasonable for all that their engine offers. Secondly I doubt more than 5 people(if that) made $50,000 using unity. If they did congratz but honestly when it comes to serious game development UDK is more than a reasonable choice. I'm not a UDK fan boy I don't have a favorite engine I use the tools that get the job done and right now that is unity. I just wish everyone would stop bashing UDK because you dont feel its reasonable, your getting to use a great engine $0-$100 for commercial what more could you want? if you make $50,000 developing with the UDK chances are your revenue wont stop at $50,000 so 25% isn't a big deal. So quit it with the dumb complaints.

*King Charizard braces his self, awaits the attack*

 

Yeah but it doesn't really make sense. If you have a lot of people they generate tens the amount of costs each month you have to pay for the unity license (downscaled to a per month cost).

Hey cool . Didn't know that. But still, without custom shaders this sucks.

 

Mika mobile guys made over 1.5 mil in a year. I think they're a married couple as well, hehe.

 

Lol... Almost any Indie developer who makes serious games with Unity must make that to survive. They just don't post it in these forums, if they post here at all. I think they got better things to do than to complain.

I said it already. They offer it cheap but no one can use it. And if someone happens to get something done (who thought of that?) then they rip them off with 25% royalty. I mean its not really fair, because they can buy the real license at any time but then I kinda wonder how this compares to Unity in a positive way?!

THEY DON'T, DAMMIT...

You don't seem to get it. No one that can't pay the 1000 USD Unity license will get anything done with it ever... We are not talking about professional teams who made it their destiny to produce a great game with UDK, which certainly is possible. We are talking about the average Joe who can't afford a Unity license... LOL And now tell me what he want's to do with UDK ^^.

 

I'm sure they did but do you have 3 more people who also had this kind of success with unity,

What dont they offer besides the source code, with unity that is almost not even an option except for a few exceptions

Yes UDK is more difficult to use but many indies have used the engine to produce quality work, google RenegadeX

 

I was unaware that UDK has a license that is only $2500 with no royalties.. I read the licensing page you provided and I don't see anything stating that fact, but it is possible I missed it. The above is not the same as making a commercial product, and only applies really for internal company training/use. Plus you have to pay the $2,500 every year which would be the same or more expensive then the current Unity upgrades which don't come every year.

Where did you see this? If it was true, then I would highly consider UDK... Currently I am still hesitant paying $2500 for upgrading all my Unity products. I am finding it harder to make money in the app market and it isn't worth it to me at this point in time.

-Dane

 

@ unity3dx: Where do you get the Unigine $0 for non commercial, fully featured from? I don't think this is true. Yes, you can ask for an evaluation licence (if you pretend you are a company but it's not available to 'everyone in their bedroom'), but this doesn't come with everything the SDK does?

 

Ha I'd like to see that . Go for it. Let me know in ten years if you already got something done...

Yeah I wrote the exception. You don't have a C++ API and this hurts badass, because UScript sucks (especially feature wise).

 

Could an admin make a license thread and sticky it? I'm sick of all this topics sprouting up.

So? Use C#. You don't need C++ to program a game.

 

Yes it does, which is why UDK can be difficult to use but its not impossible. I do believe they acknowledged this and intend to address this drawback.

 

Well do you have a link? They didn't last time I looked at it and it was pretty recently. They allow you to LINK against C++ libraries but they don't offer access to their C++ API. Which is what I meant of course. Access to the ENGINE, which you don't really have with UScript.

What the F***? Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

 

You are massively underestimating the number of people or companies that are able to make great games with Unity and turn a profit. Please don't project your inability to create successful games with Unity on the rest of the community.

 

Thanks, you are my hero of the day. *Thumbs Up*

 

Wow I think this was somewhat rude and unprofessional. Inability? Don't think I tried to develop anything serious, yet. I'm not talking about big companies, I'm talking about small companies 12 people or less with a budget between $5,000 - $15,000 or ones self funded. who have made over $50,000 using unity.

 

I just think you don't really have any idea...

??? I mean are those these folks that sit at the train station for money after work?!
As soon as there is more than one person involved and wants to make money with something, 50K is just a joke. Must be, otherwise they can go with a bottle around... begging.

 

Theres plenty of people out there making more money than that making games with Unity. The vast majority of the ones who do however don't post on the forums.

With UDK its 25% of revenue not profit they take. Also don't confuse UDK with Unreal Engine 3. From what I've read their vastly different from each other. Though I might be wrong on that.

 

If you have a budget between 5-15k for an entire game and are more than 1 person, you're doing it wrong (the high end of that might be ok for something VERY simple).

 

www.leadwerks.com

Josh's cross platform (builds games for Win, Mac, Android, iOS) engine Leadwerks3D, will have its first release sometime this year, rumor is the end of the summer or the fall. He already has the compiled games running on each platform, he's currently working on the tool chain. Two things it will have that aren't in Unity are CSG modeling (good for mocking up levels), and a visual logic editor for programming the interaction between component scripts. The scripting language of choice will be Lua, but you can also program in C++ and other languages using the API, as you could with the previous versions. He's also worked on a drag and drop import system for assets that automatically converts to Leadwerks binary file format.

I have no idea what the pricing will be, but I would bet significantly less than Unity, but more expensive than his current Windows only engine.

Also, I have no idea who will "win" but I'd bet Unity will, simply because it caters to a crowd of people that tend to get stuck on software loyalty because they're afraid to have to learn anything new and/or take a risk on something else. Market penetration is a big deal.

 

Where are these numbers coming from? People have budget limits, the economy is tough they are cracking down on the amount they give out in loans...

I dont think you have any idea. I'm keeping things in the realm of possibility your reaching well beyond. I never argued if unity was a capable engine or not.

Most indie dev teams consist of 4 or less people, with a budget $5000 or less i was buffing up the stats for the benefit of the doubt.
You unity fan boys get on my nerves because you swear the Unity Engine is the best thing on the planet while it is good, great it is not. And the recent increase of many capable developers saying the upgrade costs isn't something they ca justify even if they made a good profit using unity.(Mind you there are those who are just whining) I'm sure I don't need to explain what an indie is and the many things an indie must do such as manage budget.

 

I could be mistaken but I think there are more than this number who have made over 50k in the asset store alone no? AAA games aren't all rolling out unity yet... but the AAA game market will likely be the slowest market to turn around as the investment in their former tools and employee training would likely be a deterrent. Time will tell if they move over to Unity ofc, but in a market now filled with many platforms that are all pretty strong... it would definitely benefit companies to use middleware that allows easy deployment to multiple platforms. I'm a hobbyist, so I definitely am no industry "insider" so take what I say with a grain of salt.. but it's not that hard to make some money with Unity..... you can monetize through the asset store until you have your in-house tools in place and then you can seek to release a hit game.

With Unity's recent explosion of exposure, it's only a matter of time before we get really popular games made with the engine (though don't get me wrong.... there are many really great titles out there already).

 

See I think I understand why people are getting annoyed with my comments, because it seems like you people assume I said you couldn't use unity to make money. It also seems to me that again the assumption is you cant make a lot of money. I never said this or did I intend to. I know many people make decent money using unity, as do people with the UDK I was simply trying to state if you made $50,000 with either engine is an accomplishment as an indie developer. And 25% shouldn't be an issue considering what tools the UDK gives users....

 

I tried Marmalade once. Took one look at it, and then went running back to Unity. I tried UDK once. It failed to install 3 times, and I went back to Unity. If there's one thing about Unity that stands out the most, it's gotta be the user-friendly interface and workflow

 

I'm not annoyed, just trying to make sure the conversation is fleshed out... I was referring to this line:

Perhaps you meant it differently, but to me that line implies that 1) People aren't making much (over 50k) with Unity and 2) Very few users are making money with Unity.

If this wasn't the case, disregard my former message, but I don't see any other way to read it, even if you were exaggerating.

 

While this thread stinks, I'd like to chime in and correct a few points:

1. people think if you earned 50k you're well on the way to making big titles. I'm sorry chum, but 50k isn't close to what you need for a big title. Physynth cost us far more than that in man hours and is yet to break even. That's more common.

2. you say that UE3 is essentially free? well I'd like you to actually give it a go. For one, it takes a lot longer to achieve the same results in UE3 than it does in unity. Secondly, there's no asset store. That's right, if you want anything at all, there's no prime31 to bail your ass out. There's no proper support anywhere.

This means even if your game earns 20k with UE3, chances are it costs you double than it does unity in man hours. But what do you know? since you haven't actually finished anything much less sold it.

I know I'm being an asshole here, but it doesn't make me wrong.

Time = Money. And you're talking about both time and money on this thread so you'd better value your time pretty good if you're selling because the IRS/Taxman will find out and ruin you in short order. So that means you'll have to come off any benefit you're on, and you can't live with mummy and daddy forever.

When you start breaking down costs WHEN you're selling, it gets hairy real fast, and thats where unity wins hands down.

That 50k doesn't get to 50k for a long time when taxes and store cuts are involved. So by the time you get there (if you can actually figure out how to code in UE3), you've just spent more than all the unity licenses combined.

UE3 is a pretty terrible choice for a tiny indie team or solo, but a great one for a hobbyist or larger proven dev studio.

 

I'm not the op and I wasn't sure if this was directed at me, it probably was. I know this already hippo. I'm saying if you can get a title that you released as an Indie to make $50,000+ that is an accomplishment. While your still far from blockbuster titles you still should be proud you made that much, your game could have flopped.

It seems many people read that line the same. I should have worded it better or explained what I meant by it better what I meant was this

I know many people make money using unity, I was trying to note while many make money using unity not many make 50,000 and up. Im sure there are a few who do but not everyone on this site who started/completed a project made that much and that was my point of that line. Only a select few will reach that high depending on many factors such as their game their marketing ability etc...

 

You are assuming that people use Unity for puproses similar to your own. There are so many ways to monetize Unity I won't even bother to mention them.

 

While i've been fairly outspoken on the topic, I think once in a while it is GOOD to compare. Good for unity, good for the users.

I agree with that, but it's possible to monetize UE3 or unity in similar ways. But as we are here on the unity forums I think I'll just keep on waffling about reasons we stick with unity. It isn't blind loyalty.

 

Am I? I think anyone who runs a business based on Unity is glad to proof me right. You seem like you are just toying around with it, otherwise you wouldn't dare saying that 5-15k budget is something to work with for even the simplest things. The only way to do that is living under the bridge and somehow steal a solar plate or bring a long wire to power your laptop... And eat out of garbage cans. And if you are doing some scrum, the team can meet in one, so you can combine eating and working.

LOL... Then you probably took the stats about business recently run bankrupt.

Yeah hippo you got that right. I even forgot about the taxes . Yeah, 75% of your revenue (not profit) goes right to hell... I like UDK.

 

I think a perfectly decent game can be made with 5K no problem. Especially with the increase of pre made assets and such While it wont be the next RPG it certainly can be a decent game. I doubt it could have cost more than 7K to make angry birds and look at the out come of that investment....

Since you seem to depute everything I say tell me what is your definition of an indie team/budget?

 

LOL. Funny I never heard of it.
I associate Marmelade with something I put on my crunchy morning toast.

I read GamaSutra and a couple of indie sites every day.. and still.. yeah.. I enjoy my toast.

 

I really don't think there's a good definition for it, it usually boils down to anyone who doesn't have a big publisher funding them.

The term is really ambiguous, just like "AAA".

I agree with this, I've never heard of that engine.
After UE/UDK I always see Unity as one of the more popular engines for development. Especially now that a lot of indiegogo/kickstarter projects are picking up, some really big ones(I hope wasteland 2 turns out good)

 

I think you should tell us. Because I don't know about you, but prefer to live of something. If you have a budget of 5k dollars, even when assuming the most basic form of living, you have precisely about 10 months (if you are really good) until youre broke and you didn't even invest one single dollar into gaming until then. So say you buy Unity Pro, some assets and whatever, you 5k are gone. If you have a team mate, unless its your spouse he would sure like to be paid. So the only chance for you is to either make the game in one month, with no business expenses or make em love you.

 

Everyone starts somewhere, no one has tons to spend on a game project no matter its potential. I'm sure developers like Sid and Notch didnt have some huge budget when they started, i could be wrong but I assume they both started development on their project without a budget or self funded when they began.

See that is your problem right there, your assuming this is the only source of someone's income even as an indie dev most people have other sources of income or work. Also 5K isn't where the budget ends it is where it begins. As the project progresses and you have more to show I'm sure finding investors or perhaps even a publisher your budget will become bloated.

Good!

Your very closed minded and you assume everything is black and white everything is simple. Its not many things change every day. Humans are programmed to adapt to the ever changing environment. Like i said before if you made over 50,000K on one game/project with the UDK you honestly shouldn't complain because what the tools get in the UDK if you spent for the individual parts yourself would cost you tons more.

I have said enough and I think i've made my point. all it seems now is I'm stuck defending myself while others are trying to make me look stupid. I wont participate in this charade any longer. You have your opinion and I have mine. Good day!

 

At the average low-budget indie rate of $22 an hour, that works out to 227 man hours.
That means the game must be done within 6 weeks.

But... that's 227 man hours for everything.

117 hours for programming
40 hours for 2D art/UI
40 hours for 3D models
10 hours for Audio
20 hours for testing

Sure it can be done.. with a well-oiled machine of a team.
But would have to be very special to make any cash.

Also bear in mind, this costing doesn't include any form of marketing, software licenses, water, electricity, food, water, bog roll etc.

Add those and you're looking at another $1000 or so off the development budget.

 

Meltdown most games run you into the negative during development this is a known fact.

 

What does that have to do with my post? I was merely speculating on what can be done with a 5k budget.
And of course a game runs into the 'negative' in development. The first minute you start thinking about it, that's time being spent.

 

Just to chime in. Our company has been making money with Unity for years. I'm no millionaire, but I haven't had to punch a clock in almost 4 years.

 

Yeah nice, but then its not the budget. The budget is the entire stuff. What do you think is expensive with software development? Man hours and licenses?! Sure you could develop Windows 8 for free with your calculation... That's a nice Indy project then. Seriously.

Oh thanks for telling, it took you to realize that. Now I am really down

You really don't get it. Hippo already said it. UDK makes nothing easier for Indies, only in your calculation, because for you everyone works for free. If I don't take man hours into consideration, then I don't need Unity. I will just code one myself, because its cheaper.

UDK triples or quadruples manhours... At least... And especially for indies who obviously haven't cut it yet, if a 1000 EUR for their dream is too much. The magical tools you are talking about to not exist. UDK makes everything utterly complex. Unless you want to create a AAA game.

Nice

 

You're a tad off... it took over 140K to create Angry Birds.

I'm being paid nearly 7K for a single, very small, game. I'm just one programmer. Then there are the other programmers, the artists, the sound engineers, etc etc which probably took more than I (I worked part-time for most of the development, as well as joining halfway through)

It's fine to ask questions, but don't make accusations about a subject you know little to nothing about.

 

UDK IS NOT $0 UPFRONT.
It specifically stated its $99 upfront :

From UDK Eula:
"If you create a games or commercial applications using UDK for sale or distribution to an end-user or client, or if you are providing services in connection with a UDK based game or application, the per-seat option does not apply. Instead the license terms for this arrangement are US $99 up-front, and a 0% royalty on you or your company's first US$50,000 in UDK related revenue from all your UDK based games or commercial applications, and a 25% royalty on UDK related revenue from all your UDK based games or commercial applications above US$50,000."


About Marmelade engine - most people never heard of it - but if you are a 3D artist you would. Its hugely popular amongst the 3D artists. Many artists use it for their portfolio "beauty shots" to showcase their game models.

 

I think that's marmoset you're talking about

Marmalade is pretty good though, and in lean C++, a better fit than unity for some projects and a bad fit for others... horses for courses

 

Ah, you are absolutely right. Silly me. LOL.