According to a video shared by Twitter user ImmatureGamerX recently, Epic President Tim Sweeney announced at the Unreal Carnival 2023 conference that it will change the charging method of Unreal Engine sometime next year, only for non-game developers.
Unreal Engine is currently free to use, but Epic will charge a 5% royalty once the game earns more than $1 million. However, Unreal Engine has a variety of non-game applications, such as manufacturing. Since many application activities in these fields do not generate game royalties, Epic does not make money from these users.
Sweeney said Unreal Engine will move to a "station-based" licensing model next year - where the company pays a license fee for each employee who uses the engine, similar to Adobe software - for any customer using the engine for purposes other than game development.
Sweeney did not mention the specific price adjustment plan, but said that it will not be very expensive but not very cheap either. He also said that Unreal Engine's new licensing model will be similar to tools such as Maya and Photoshop.
Sweeney said the terms for game developers remain unchanged and they can still use Unreal Engine for free until their revenue exceeds $1 million, at which point Epic will begin charging a 5% royalty. Educators and students will also continue to be able to use Unreal Engine for free, while there will be a "minimum threshold" to make Unreal Engine affordable for independent filmmakers and others "who make less than a certain amount of money from commercial projects."
Sweeney also talked about Unity’s previous price adjustment strategy and the company’s recent layoffs. He said Unreal Engine's new charging method is different from Unity's, and it is a "necessary survival move."