Choosing the best game engine: Unity vs Unreal vs Godot

Game development is a creative and challenging process that requires a lot of planning, design, programming, art, sound, and testing. One of the most important decisions that a game developer has to make is which game engine to use. A game engine is a software framework that provides the core functionalities of a game, such as rendering, physics, audio, input, networking, and scripting. A game engine can greatly simplify the development process and allow the developer to focus on the game logic and content.

There are many game engines available in the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Some of the most popular and widely used game engines are Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot. In this blog post, we will compare these three game engines and help you decide which one is the best for your game project.

Unity

Unity is a cross-platform game engine that was launched in 2005 by Unity Technologies. It is one of the most popular game engines in the world, with over 9 million registered developers and more than 50% of the mobile game market share¹. Unity supports 2D and 3D graphics, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality. Unity also has a large and active community of developers, artists, and educators, who create and share tutorials, assets, and tools on the Unity Asset Store.

Some of the advantages of using Unity are:

• It is easy to learn and use, especially for beginners and hobbyists. Unity has a user-friendly interface and a powerful visual editor that allows you to create scenes, prefabs, animations, and UI elements with drag and drop. Unity also has a scripting language called C#, which is widely used and well-documented.
• It is highly versatile and flexible, allowing you to create games of any genre and style. Unity can handle both 2D and 3D graphics, as well as pixel art, low-poly, and realistic graphics. Unity also has a rich set of features and tools, such as physics, lighting, shaders, particles, audio, networking, and AI, that can help you achieve your desired game mechanics and effects.
• It is cross-platform and supports a wide range of platforms, such as Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and more. Unity also has a built-in cloud service called Unity Cloud Build, which allows you to build and deploy your game to multiple platforms with ease.

Some of the disadvantages of using Unity are:

• It can be expensive, depending on your revenue and team size. Unity has a free version called Unity Personal, which is available for individuals and small teams with less than $100K annual revenue. However, if you exceed that limit, you have to pay for a subscription plan, which ranges from $25 to $150 per month per seat². Unity also charges a 30% commission fee for any assets sold on the Unity Asset Store³.
• It can be performance-intensive, especially for mobile and web games. Unity has a large and complex code base, which can result in longer build times, larger file sizes, and higher memory usage. Unity also has some limitations and bugs, such as the lack of native support for multithreading, the inability to modify the engine source code, and the occasional crashes and errors.
• It can be difficult to optimize and customize, especially for advanced and professional developers. Unity has a lot of features and tools, but not all of them are well-optimized and well-documented. Unity also has a closed-source and proprietary license, which means that you cannot access or modify the engine source code, unless you pay for a special license. Unity also has a fixed and rigid architecture, which can limit your creativity and control over your game.

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine is a cross-platform game engine that was launched in 1998 by Epic Games. It is one of the most powerful and advanced game engines in the world, with over 7.5 million registered developers and more than 40% of the PC game market share. Unreal Engine supports 2D and 3D graphics, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality. Unreal Engine also has a large and active community of developers, artists, and educators, who create and share tutorials, assets, and tools on the Unreal Engine Marketplace.

Some of the advantages of using Unreal Engine are:

• It is highly performant and reliable, especially for high-end and AAA games. Unreal Engine has a state-of-the-art rendering system, which can produce stunning and realistic graphics, such as dynamic lighting, shadows, reflections, and post-processing effects. Unreal Engine also has a robust and stable code base, which can handle complex and intensive game logic and calculations.
• It is highly customizable and extensible, allowing you to create games of any genre and style. Unreal Engine has a source code that is open and accessible, which means that you can modify and extend the engine to suit your needs and preferences. Unreal Engine also has a modular and flexible architecture, which allows you to add or remove features and tools as you wish.
• It is highly innovative and cutting-edge, offering you the latest and greatest features and tools in the game industry. Unreal Engine has a visual scripting language called Blueprints, which allows you to create game logic and behavior without writing any code. Unreal Engine also has a suite of tools and technologies, such as Unreal Motion Graphics, Unreal Audio Engine, Unreal AI, Unreal Multiplayer, and Unreal VR, that can help you create immersive and interactive game experiences.

Some of the disadvantages of using Unreal Engine are:

• It can be difficult to learn and use, especially for beginners and hobbyists. Unreal Engine has a steep learning curve and a complex interface, which can be overwhelming and intimidating for new and casual users. Unreal Engine also has a scripting language called C++, which is low-level and hard to master.
• It can be expensive, depending on your revenue and platform. Unreal Engine has a free version, which is available for anyone to use. However, if you make more than $1M in gross revenue, you have to pay a 5% royalty fee to Epic Games. Unreal Engine also charges a 12% commission fee for any assets sold on the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Unreal Engine also has some platform-specific fees, such as $699 per year for iOS and Android development, and $19 per month for console development.
• It can be overkill and unnecessary, especially for simple and small games. Unreal Engine has a lot of features and tools, but not all of them are useful and relevant for every game project. Unreal Engine also has a huge and heavy code base, which can result in longer build times, larger file sizes, and higher memory usage. Unreal Engine also has some limitations and bugs, such as the lack of native support for 2D graphics, the difficulty of integrating third-party libraries, and the occasional crashes and errors.

Godot

Godot is a cross-platform game engine that was launched in 2007 by Juan Linietsky and Ariel Manzur. It is one of the most promising and emerging game engines in the world, with over 1.5 million registered developers and more than 10% of the open source game market share. Godot supports 2D and 3D graphics, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality. Godot also has a large and active community of developers, artists, and educators, who create and share tutorials, assets, and tools on the Godot Asset Library.

Some of the advantages of using Godot are:

• It is free and open source, allowing you to use and modify the engine without any restrictions or fees. Godot has a source code that is open and accessible, which means that you can access and modify the engine to suit your needs and preferences. Godot also has a license that is free and permissive, which means that you can distribute and monetize your game without paying any royalties or commissions to anyone.
• It is lightweight and fast, especially for mobile and web games. Godot has a small and simple code base, which can result in shorter build times, smaller file sizes, and lower memory usage. Godot also has a native support for multithreading, which can improve the performance and responsiveness of your game.
• It is user-friendly and intuitive, especially for intermediate and experienced developers. Godot has a clean and elegant interface and a powerful visual editor that allows you to create scenes, nodes, animations, and UI elements with drag and drop. Godot also has a scripting language called GDScript, which is similar to Python and easy to learn and use.

Some of the disadvantages of using Godot are:

• It is less mature and stable, especially for complex and large games. Godot is still in development and has some features and tools that are incomplete or experimental, such as 3D rendering, audio, networking, and AI. Godot also has some limitations and bugs, such as the lack of native support for pixel art, the difficulty of optimizing and debugging, and the occasional crashes and errors.
• It is less versatile and flexible, allowing you to create games of certain genres and styles. Godot is more suitable for 2D games, especially pixel art games. Godot also has a rich set of features and tools, such as physics, lighting, shaders, particles, audio, networking, and AI, that can help you achieve your desired game mechanics and effects. However, Godot’s support for 3D games is not as good as other major engines, and it lacks some advanced and cutting-edge features and tools, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and visual scripting.
• It is less popular and supported, especially for commercial and professional games. Godot has a smaller and younger community of developers, artists, and educators, who create and share tutorials, assets, and tools on the Godot Asset Library. However, the quality and quantity of these resources are not as high as other major engines, and you may have difficulty finding help and support for your specific problems and needs. Godot also has fewer games and projects that are made with it, and you may have less exposure and recognition for your game in the market.

Choosing the best game engine for your game project is not an easy task, and it depends on many factors, such as your game genre and style, your budget and revenue, your skill level and experience, your platform and audience, and your personal preference and vision. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and each game engine has its own pros and cons. Therefore, you should do your own research and testing, and try out different game engines before making your final decision.

Here is a summary of the main features and differences of the three game engines that we have compared in this blog post: