Last time on our Unity vs Unreal Engine debate, our two lead developers discussed their experience with both engines as well as some of the highlights of their preferred engine. Most importantly, we got an introduction into the debate and they each shared why a client should choose Unity over Unreal Engine or vice versa. 

Next up, our lead developers go into some more detail of the features available and how some of these strengths might persuade a client to choose one over the other. Lastly, we’ll have our developers discussing the future of game development and how Unity and Unreal Engine might fit into it!

Could you tell me more about Unreal Engine’s Blueprint Visual Scripting and the Unreal Engine Marketplace?

Blueprints empower designers and technical artists across the entire engine, allowing designers to prototype and modify gameplay without requiring them to learn the syntax of some programming language. It also allows technical artists to quickly iterate their work without long compile times. The blueprints are powerful enough that programmers can use it to make high-level logic more manageable, like UI programming, while also offering a common communication layer for many core systems like animation, AI, and VFX to name a few.

The UE marketplace has technical requirements which ensures anything on it is of a high quality. As a buyer, you know exactly what you’re getting with comprehensive content descriptions and you know it’s going to be of an acceptable quality. It also has plenty of free content, some of which were developed by Epic themselves.

On the other side, what can you tell me about Unity’s Asset Store and Unity’s cross-platform capability?

Unity’s Asset Store is a hub that is packed with resources. 3D models, animations, plugins for game developers to easily plug in and save them time, it’s a fantastic resource for any game developer. On top of that, Unity periodically releases bundles that are brilliant. Very useful and appealing to developers, it helps to enrich your asset library and arsenal. There’s a bit of everything in there, essential utilities to specialized solutions, the Unity Asset Store offers resources to tackle any of the diverse development challenges that occur. It’s an empowering source for developers of any level, for any genre, and any type of game.

In general, we’re seeing a lot of AAA console titles being made with Unreal Engine. However, when we’re looking at other platforms or those trying to appeal to multiple platforms, Unity is relied upon. PC to mobile, to web, to XR and even VR, Unity’s cross-platform support is king.

How do you see the future of game development changing and where do your respective engines fit into it?

UE Developer: As we see new games releasing, more content and quality are expected. The levels are rising hugely, far beyond what any of their predecessors were required. This has always been true, but we’ve never seen this sharp a rise before. At the same time, Unreal Engine has been enabling AAA and AA to indies to release more content with better quality in less time. Fortnite is a great piece of proof of that, I think, showing what the engine can achieve as the game evolves alongside the engine to make use of its latest technology.

Unity Developer: Great question. We’ve the promise of Unity 6 coming later this year which I think will give UE5 a run for its money. A lot of improvements, especially in performance, are very promising. There are a lot of Unity features planned such as cloud/multiplayer/AI features, there’s almost too much to keep a track of but I think it’s a good pace to keep up with how the game development world is evolving! I think Unity still aims to be ubiquitous, covering all possible platforms with solutions for them all. Developers benefit hugely here, having options to use in their development, accelerating their work without sacrificing quality. I think we’ll see a lot more live service games and Unity will be there to support them. We might not have Fortnite, but Unity has its own umbrella of solutions that I think make it very appealing to developers as we move forward.

For the final words, is there anything you’d like to add about Unity v. Unreal Engine?

UE Developer: Unreal Engine is so extensible! You have access to their entire source code meaning customization and modification are open to you. It can be redistributed between team members easily and without any extra costs. I think its gameplay framework is very complete, very extensive and offers a ton of features which are ready to be used out of the box.

Unity Developer: People often see Unity as the easy solution and while it is easy to pick up, it doesn’t lack when it comes to complex projects. You can get something basic running in minutes which is great for starting off and beginners. But Unity is powerful enough for any kind of game, any scale, and the Unity Asset Store is incredibly helpful in both cases. I do think as well Unity isn’t just for games, it has a lot of other applications that make it very useful! While there are other engines like Unreal, none are more beginner friendly than Unity while still having the capacity to scale up into huge games and experiences. 

We have to extend a huge thank you to our two lead developers for their time! We hope you found this insight into both Unity and Unreal Engine useful!

If you’d like to leverage our game development expertize, such as our Unity Game Development service and Unreal Engine Game Development service, contact our team today. We offer a wide array of services alongside them such as game VFX, game trailers, and art production. With Magic Media, you have a one-stop studio for all your gaming, entertainment, and tech needs. Talk to us today and let’s create magic!