This was first revealed in October 2023 but it is now official, subscription pricing will be coming to Unreal Engine 5.4 this April. Don’t worry though, if you are a game developer or if you make less than $1M USD gross revenue, this change will not impact you. In fact there are some benefits coming your way.
Details from the Unreal Engine blog:
We are introducing a new seat-based Unreal Subscription when we release Unreal Engine 5.4. This new pricing of $1,850 per seat will apply to companies generating over $1 million USD in annual gross revenue who are not creating games.
Last year at Unreal Fest in New Orleans we announced that, in 2024, we would begin offering an Unreal Engine seat-based enterprise software pricing model for industries other than game development. To fund future development efforts, we will be rolling out this new non-game pricing model with Unreal Engine 5.4 in late April. We are sharing more information now so you can be ready for what’s coming.
Unreal Engine will remain free to use for students, educators, hobbyists, and companies generating less than $1 million in annual gross revenue. We are not changing our licensing model for game developers, who will continue to pay a 5% royalty on products that exceed $1 million in lifetime gross revenue. The first $1 million that a game generates is exempt from royalties, and revenue earned through the Epic Games Store is exempt from overall royalty calculations, just as it is today.What is changing for non-game industries?
We will introduce a new seat-based Unreal Subscription as part of our EULA update with the release of Unreal Engine 5.4. The annual cost per seat will be $1,850, with regional pricing available in select countries.
You will only need to pay for seats if you meet all of the following criteria:
- You are a company that generates over $1 million in annual gross revenue
- You do not create games
- And you do not create applications that are licensed to third-party end users and rely on Unreal Engine code at runtime
You will be able to use a seat-based subscription to create:
- Linear content, for example, film and television shows, architectural visualizations, graphics for broadcast and live events
- Products that incorporate Unreal Engine code at runtime and are not licensed to third parties, for example, product configurators used either internally or externally
- Immersive experiences that are not sold directly to individual users, such as theme park rides and interactive architectural walkthroughs
If you’re developing a non-game application that is licensed to third-party end users and relies on Unreal Engine code at runtime then you will need to pay royalties just like game developers do. You will pay a 5% royalty on products that exceed $1 million in lifetime gross revenue.
If you are currently using Unreal Engine 5.3 or any other prior versions, pricing changes will not apply to you until you decide to update to 5.4. Pricing changes will not apply to new or existing users of Unreal Engine 5.3 or any other prior version; they will only apply to users of Unreal Engine 5.4 or later. You can view the Unreal Engine roadmap to see what’s planned for 5.4 and beyond.
As to the advantage I mentioned above, Reality Capture (learn more here) is getting a pricing change and will be free to use for all developers making less than $1M USD per year:
For RealityCapture, individual seats will be $1,250 per year starting with RealityCapture 1.4. We will no longer be offering a Pay Per Input (PPI) pricing model going forward. Existing customers with unused PPI credits will be able to utilize them.
Just like Unreal Engine, both Twinmotion and RealityCapture will now be free to use if you’re a student, educator, or hobbyist, as well as if your company earns less than $1 million in annual gross revenue.
Key Links
Unreal Engine 5.4 Pricing Change Announcement
Photogrammetry For Game Development
You can learn more about the upcoming subscription pricing changes for Unreal Engine 5.4 in the video below.