Epic Enhances Unreal Engine and Epic Games Store Incentives

Epic Games has announced improved terms for developers who create games using the Unreal Engine and list them on the Epic Games Store.

As part of the new “Launch Everywhere with Epic” initiative, Epic is reducing the royalty rate for games developed with Unreal Engine from 5 percent to 3.5 percent, provided these games are available on the Epic Games Store on their release day. This program will be effective from January 1, 2025, for eligible games published on the Epic Games Store from that date onward.

This adjustment is seen as another effort by Epic to incentivize developers to list their games on its platform, including the recently launched Epic Games Stores on Android and iOS. Epic states that the royalty reduction will apply across all platforms and stores where a developer’s games are listed, including consoles. Therefore, a developer with a successful multi-platform game developed using Unreal Engine could save significantly on royalty payments.

However, if a developer releases an Unreal Engine game on a PC or Android store without listing it on the corresponding Epic Games Store, the royalty rate will revert to 5 percent. For games on iOS, Epic is presently waiving the simultaneous release requirement due to Apple’s Core Technology Fee, which many developers would incur if they listed their games on Epic’s iOS store. Should there be any changes in Epic’s policy towards iOS, developers will receive a four-month notice.

Epic already offers a waiver on Unreal Engine royalties for sales processed through the Epic Games Store where Epic is the payment processor, providing another advantage for developers to publish on its platforms. Additionally, Unreal Engine developers are only required to pay royalties after their game generates more than $1 million in revenue. The reduced royalties could also appeal to developers who have become disillusioned with Unity following its discontinued runtime fee pricing model.

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