Free Unreal Dev Kit + GameSpy Indie License FTW
Today, Epic Games announced that it has made a version of its Unreal Development Kit available for free for use in non-commercial games. This essentially puts the Unreal 3 engine - which has brought to life scores of AAA games (including the recently released Borderlands and Epic’s own Gears of War) on multiple platforms - into the hands of independent developers everywhere, free of charge. It will also enable these developers to release UE3-powered games for free.
Epic’s announcement dovetails nicely into our own GameSpy Indie program - announced at the 2009 Game Developers Conference—which provides ultra low-cost licensing of GameSpy Technology’s full range of online gaming services to independent game developers. it also provides worldwide digital distribution for these titles through IGN’s Direct2Drive and FilePlanet services.
The engine is available to PC developers only for now, with Epic actively considering support for consoles. Epic will support the engine with free upgrades as it continues with ongoing iteration.
Gamasutra reports that developers, “… will still need to obtain an official licensing agreement to develop a commercial project using UE3.” It also notes the announcement of Epic’s new royalty-based engine licensing terms; under these, Epic will collect “twenty-five percent of revenue after the first $5,000 is made, with a per-seat yearly fee also potentially applying if the project is solely used internally.”
All in all, the indie development scene and gaming press are pretty over-the-moon about the announcement - as are we here at GameSpy Technology. Our full range of connected gaming services (from networking & multiplayer and buddylists to stats / leaderboards and cloud data storage) have been integrated into UE3 for a while now, providing UE3 developers with a fast track to a wide range of online capabilities for their single- and multiplayer games on all of UE3’s supported platforms. Our goal has always been to bring online services to as many games as possible - and we cheer any move that lowers barriers to entry in the space. We’re pleased to welcome Epic to the cause of supporting independent game development.
If you’re a new Unreal Developer Kit licensee looking to add online features to your game, give us a shout. We’re here to help.
- Download the Unreal Developer Kit now - for free - from FilePlanet
- Visit the official UDK Website
- Contact GameSpy Technology about GameSpy Indie licensing to bring your UDK games online
Quickly…