A week after laying off almost 900 employees, Epic Games announced that it’s increasing the price to use Unreal Engine – not just for the game development community, Game Developer reported.
The news came from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney himself in a presentation at Unreal Fest 2023. In a video captured by Fortnite Creative developer Immature (and spotted by Game World Observer), Sweeney explains that developers using Unreal Engine in the film, TV, automotive, and other industries can expect to start paying a per-seat licensing fee.
He claimed that the pricing model will not be “unusually expensive or unusually inexpensive,” and that its pricing structure will be similar to subscription services like Maya of Photoshop. Sweeney said he wanted to announce these changes now in the name of “transparency”.
GeekWire reported that the recent round of layoffs at Epic Games impacted its office in Bellevue, Wash., with 39 employees affected, according to a new filing with the Washington state Employment Security Department (ESD).
According to GeekWire, Epic, headquartered in Raleigh N.C., is arguably best-known as the developer behind the popular shooter Fortnite. It’s also the creator of an eponymous digital storefront for PC games and the publisher of the Unreal Engine, a high-end toolkit for game development and 3D modeling.
“For a while now, we’ve been spending way more money than we earn,” Sweeney wrote. “Investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators. I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect, I see that this was unrealistic.
GeekWire reported that affected employees, per Sweeney’s memo, have received a severance package that includes career transition services and six months’ base pay and healthcare.
Engadget also reported that Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says the company is adjusting Unreal Engine pricing for non-gaming developers in fields like film / TV and automotive.
“We haven’t officially announced this, but in the interest of transparency, we want to put it out there,” Sweeney said in an presentation from Unreal Fest 2023. The CEO did not mention the specific pricing but said Epic’s licensing model would resemble those of tools like Maya and Photoshop.
According to Engadget, Sweeney sounded (understandably) determined to differentiate Epic’s price hike from Unity’s. The latter stirred the ire of countless developers as it announced a per-install pricing model that many smaller developers claimed would put them out of business. Unity ended up walking back many of the plan’s most contentious changes.
The Verge reported that in posts on X, Sweeney clarified that educators and students will be able to continue to use Unreal Engine for free, and there will be a minimum revenue threshold for indie filmmakers and others whose commercial projects earn below a certain amount – though Sweeney didn’t specify what that threshold would be.
It sounds to me like CEO Tim Sweeney believes that his company is failing, and decided to solve that problem with layoffs. I’m hoping that the workers who were laid off will apply to other gaming companies, and get hired quickly.