Unreal Engine: From History to the Future
June 25, 2025
Let's take a closer look at the Unreal engine. How did it appear and improve? What are its strengths? Is it more suitable for indie projects or for AAA? What are some of the difficulties you may encounter when working with this wonderful high-tech tool?
The Unreal engine was developed by Epic Games with Tim Sweeney, who contributed significantly to the code for the engine, in 1996. Initially, the team had no intention of licensing the engine, but later changed its mind. After 3 years, the engine was already used in 19 projects, including very successful and cult games.
UE5 is now available, and it's packed with revolutionary new features that allow you to develop projects with incredibly detailed graphics. One of the most important innovations is Nanite, which allows the use of models with a very high number of polygons, which may be necessary for the development of hyper-realistic scenes. A new system of physics and object destruction has been added that will take the interaction in the game scene to a new level. Developers can now manage large game worlds, as parts that are not needed at the moment are automatically turned off, and have tools for creating hyper-realistic characters. The overall outlook for the development of the engine is very positive, as it is constantly improving and keeping up with the times and player demands.
Due to its wide functionality, one of the biggest advantages of the Unreal engine is that it can be used for projects with very different styles and mechanics. Initially, it was developed for first-person shooters with realistic graphics, but now it has gone far beyond this niche. The engine is used in architecture, and even in educational initiatives and the film industry.
Many well-known studios that develop AAA projects choose Unreal engine for them, but this does not mean that it is not suitable for beginners. It is very pleasant that the use of the engine itself and the development of prototypes on it are free, currently you only need to pay royalties after the earnings from the game exceed $100,000. Also, the Unreal Engine Marketplace will help studios that cannot hire the entire team, where you can buy textures, models, animations, and even sound effects. And every month Epic Games adds new free resources there, which can include tools, animations, textures, and more. This is a great opportunity for students and beginners to get high-quality assets with minimal investment.
UE5 uses two options for implementing game mechanics and physics - using the C++ programming language and Blueprints. The latter is a visual programming language that allows you to build logical systems without using code. Such a system is attractive because it is accessible even to beginners, but it does not give full control over project optimization like C++.
There are only a few things that may call into question the choice of this particular engine for a project. The Unreal Engine is capable of working on projects of high complexity and detail, so it has rather high requirements for the computer's processor and graphics card. Of course, the level of hardware will vary in proportion to the level of the project you're working on. It's also not very easy to learn, due to its extensive functionality, which can scare off many beginners.
If Unreal Engine development is exactly what your project needs, but you don't have the programming skills or the necessary hardware yet, you can delegate the work with the engine to a team. Such a solution can allow you not to sacrifice the development technology and visual results and will allow you to immerse yourself in game design, leaving the technical aspects to specialists.