Editing Unreal Engine (section)

{{Short description|Video game engine developed by Epic Games}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Unreal Engine
| logo = Unreal Engine Logo (new typeface).svg
| logo caption = Logo of Unreal Engine with a new typeface
| screenshot = Unreal Engine 4 screenshot.png
| caption = Screenshot of Unreal Engine 4.20
| author = [[Tim Sweeney (game developer)|Tim Sweeney]]
| developer = [[Epic Games]]
| latest release version = 5.5
| latest preview version = 
| programming language = [[C++]]
| operating system = [[Windows]], [[Linux]], [[macOS]]
| license = [[Source-available]] commercial software with [[Royalty payment|royalty]] model for commercial use<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2018-08-26|title=Unreal Engine End User License Agreement|url=https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula|website=Unreal Engine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826113400/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula|archive-date=August 26, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
| website = {{URL|https://www.unrealengine.com/|unrealengine.com}}
}}

'''Unreal Engine''' ('''UE''') is a 3D computer graphics [[game engine]] developed by [[Epic Games]], first showcased in the 1998 [[first-person shooter]] video game ''[[Unreal (1998 video game)|Unreal]]''. Initially developed for [[Personal computer|PC]] first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres of games and has been adopted by other industries, most notably the film and television industry. Unreal Engine is written in [[C++]] and features a high degree of [[Software portability|portability]], supporting a wide range of [[Desktop computer|desktop]], [[Mobile phone|mobiles]], [[Video game console|console]], and [[virtual reality]] platforms.

The latest generation, [[Unreal Engine 5]], was launched in April 2023. Its source code is available on [[GitHub]], and commercial use is granted based on a [[Royalty payment|royalty model]], with Epic charging 5% of revenues over US $1 million, which is waived for games published exclusively on the Epic Games Store. Epic has incorporated features in the engine from acquired companies such as Quixel, which is seen as benefiting from ''[[Fortnite]]''<nowiki/>'s revenue.

In 2014, Unreal Engine was named the world's "most successful videogame engine" by ''[[Guinness World Records]]''.<ref name="guinness">{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-successful-game-engine |title=Most successful videogame engine |website=[[Guinness World Records]] |date=July 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222151655/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-successful-game-engine |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>