Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

You can release any product that is allowed by law. You can release games, demos, VR projects, architectural showcases, trailers, films, and more.

The only parts of the Unreal Engine you can’t release to the general public are the source code and tools or modifications to them; these components may only be distributed to other licensees with access to the same version of the Unreal Engine.

Read the Unreal Engine EULA for full details.

Before you distribute that product, you must give Epic notice of your intended distribution by submitting the Release Form.

Under the terms of the standard Unreal Engine EULA, you are generally obligated to pay to Epic 5% of worldwide gross revenue, regardless of what company collects the revenue. The 5% royalty is calculated on the amount over and above the first $1 million USD in gross revenue. Effective Jan 1, 2025, the royalty rate may go down from 5% to 3.5% of earnings above $1 million USD if you ship your game on the Epic Games Store before or at the same time you release it on other stores. Revenue generated through the Epic Games Store is also excluded from the royalty calculations where Epic processes those payments.

Royalty payments are due 45 days after the close of each calendar quarter. Along with the payment, you must send a royalty report on a per-product basis. For more information, see our Release page.

Our aim is to provide powerful tools, a scalable and productive workflow, advanced features, and millions of lines of C++ source code that enable developers to achieve more than they would otherwise be able to, so that this structure works to everyone’s benefit.

In this business model, Epic succeeds only when developers succeed using Unreal Engine. Many of the industry’s leading developers and publishers have signed up to license Unreal Engine with royalty-based terms over the years, and now this level of access is open to everyone. And, don’t forget, we continue to offer custom terms.

Yes, and we have designed the Unreal Editor and launcher to accommodate this. We aim to build a unified development and modding community. Here is how this works: You’re free to release your game through any distribution channels of your choosing, however the Unreal Editor (including modified versions) and code may only be distributed through official Epic channels (e.g. the Epic Games launcher for binaries, and GitHub for source), to users who have accepted the EULA.

Royalties are due on revenue from Kickstarter or other crowdfunding sources when the revenue is actually attributable to your product. For example, if the user is required to purchase a particular funding package to obtain access (now or later) to your product, or if that package gives the buyer benefits within the product such as in-game items or virtual currency.

Here’s an example of what we mean by “attributable”: Assume you provide two tiers of offers, a signed poster for $20, and a signed poster plus game access for $50. No royalties are due on ancillary products like posters, so no royalty is due on the $20 tier. On the $50 tier, the user is paying for the poster with a $20 value, and that implies that the remaining $30 of value is attributable to the product. So, for each $50 tier sale, you’d pay a royalty of $1.50 (5% of $30).

• Ancillary products, including t-shirts, CDs, plushies, action figures, and books. The exception is items with embedded data or information, such as QR codes, that affect the operation of the product.
• Consulting, work-for-hire services, and in-house projects using Unreal Engine. This applies to using the engine to create architectural, automotive, or other visualizations, as well as consultants receiving a development fee for creating custom projects.
• Non-interactive linear media, including movies, television shows, animated films, and cartoons distributed as video.
• Amusement park rides and live installations.
• Truly free games and apps (with no associated revenue).
• Location-based experiences, such as interactive amusement park rides, coin-op arcades, or VR experiences.

You’re free to release Unreal Engine products through a publisher or distributor, and the EULA gives you the right to sublicense the necessary parts of Unreal Engine to them so they can release your product.

When negotiating terms with publishers, please keep in mind that the standard royalty remains 5% of the product’s gross revenue after generating $1 million USD. In this scenario, feel free to refer your publisher to Epic during discussions, as it may be advantageous to all if the publisher obtains a custom-negotiated, multi-product Unreal Engine license covering your product.

• Ship exclusively on the Epic Games Store for PC, Mac, and/or Android. 
• Ship on the Epic Games Store first, before shipping on other stores on corresponding platforms (PC, Mac, and/or Android). This is inclusive of games participating in the Epic First Run program.
• Ship simultaneously on the Epic Games Store, and other stores on corresponding platforms (PC, Mac, and/or Android).

• We are temporarily waiving the requirement that you simultaneously ship your iOS games on the Epic Games Store on iPhones or iPads to receive the royalty rate reduction. This is because Apple currently imposes a commercially prohibitive ‘Core Technology Fee’ on apps that ship on stores that compete with their store. If this changes, we will give licensees a minimum of four months’ notice.
• In addition, parity between stores is required; this is defined as content, feature, marketing, and post-release technical parity in the updated EULA. 
• If a game that qualified in the past ever stops meeting all the criteria, the Unreal Engine royalty rate will return to the standard 5% rate.