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Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

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Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#31

Post by Snafuh »

dragonwriter wrote: post #18
nullptr_deref wrote: post #2

This would probably drive all the hobbyist to learn something open source like Godot, wouldn't it? This would mean Godot would be the thing worth investing for.

No, it doesn't affect game developer hobbyists (actually, if anything, it makes them more secure, since Unreal would have a broader pool of paying clients and less beed to squeeze low-revenie games before they can afford it.) Unless you mean, e.g., movie-making hobbyists where they go from never having to pay to having some (probably, as currently exists for games, based on a revenue threshold) some condition where t…

Tim Sweeney confirmed on Twitter there will be a revenue threshold just like for game dev. Small time studios or individuals won't have to pay unless they make money.

Lots of enterprise customer paid before already anyway for Epic's (questionable) support

Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#32

Post by pxc »

tomschwiha wrote: post #16
AequitasOmnibus wrote: post #7

> Speaking at Unreal Fest 2023, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Unreal Engine would become “a licensable piece of software like Maya or Photoshop” with a subscription-based pricing model. SAAS is rent-seeking at its worst. It’s predatory, anti-consumer and downright annoying. I hope this backfires on Epic.

In contrary I like PhpStorm (and other Jetbrains software) which has a nice SAAS license. You always own the old versions or you keep subscribed and pay for upgrades. With evolving software (aka never finished) someone has to pay for the upgrades. In the best case its the existing user base. But true, most SAAS is just cash cow milking.

I'd say that PhpStorm doesn't really qualify as SaaS.

Not all software subscriptions are SaaS. See, e.g., here: https://www.dataversity.net/saas-and-subscription-complement...

SaaS means someone else runs the software and your access to it is mediated by their service (usually a networked service).

Some SaaS tests:

If you can keep running it when your subscription runs out, it's not SaaS. If it runs on your own hardware, it's not SaaS.

This concept creep elides the extraordinary level of alienation inherent in SaaS, which is exceptional even for proprietary software. This overly broad usage of the term can make the tradeoffs involved¹ in actual SaaS seem less severe than they are.

--

1: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-s...

Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#35

Post by to11mtm »

raytopia wrote: post #8

Honestly it makes sense. I was always a little confused that non-gamedevs had to pay 0. Of course that could've also just been the plan to get VFX and other industries onto Unreal Engine so Epic Games could start charging them later. I'm also confused how Epic Games has become unprofitable suddenly. I think I read somewhere it was in the last 10 weeks but I could be wrong about that.

If I had to guess, it's a few factors.

They probably overhired during 2020-2022 period like everyone else did.

Additionally, AFAIR there were tax rule changes going in play this year that would change the accounting balance sheet. [0]

But, the biggest one in my mind, realities of inflation/shrinkflation are setting in. I'd have to guess that my food cost has gone up enough that I could have theoretically purchased at least one or two skins with the extra money I'm spending on the same or less food [1]. I think this is a factor that is easy to be insulated from in tech, however my friends in various luxury service industries are feeling the pinch; folks cutting down on "spa days" and fancy restaurant trips.

[0] - I know earlier this year a bunch of changes around how Capital Expenditures/R&D were allowed to be deducted, and in some cases it would lead to a large increase in the cost of engineers.

[1] - I don't do Fortnite so I have no clue what stuff costs, broadly speaking however 10-20$ a week is a light estimate.

Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#36

Post by SeanAnderson »

Krutonium wrote: post #28
raytopia wrote: post #8

Honestly it makes sense. I was always a little confused that non-gamedevs had to pay 0. Of course that could've also just been the plan to get VFX and other industries onto Unreal Engine so Epic Games could start charging them later. I'm also confused how Epic Games has become unprofitable suddenly. I think I read somewhere it was in the last 10 weeks but I could be wrong about that.

It's not that they suddenly became unprofitable, it's that they're (partially) owned by Tencent, and Tencent is calling in their dues. Epic took their money to try and unseat Valve, which clearly did not work. Now the economy is taking a dip, so they need money.

Why do you feel this is Tencent's doing if they're not the majority shareholder?

Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#38

Post by yazzku »

Manfred wrote: post #15
raytopia wrote: post #8

Honestly it makes sense. I was always a little confused that non-gamedevs had to pay 0. Of course that could've also just been the plan to get VFX and other industries onto Unreal Engine so Epic Games could start charging them later. I'm also confused how Epic Games has become unprofitable suddenly. I think I read somewhere it was in the last 10 weeks but I could be wrong about that.

The strategy is to worm your product into companies and make people comfortable with (or depend on) your tools. When there is enough adoption, you slide in and claim a piece of the pie.

Mind if I slytherin?

Re: Unreal Engine will no longer be free for all

#39

Post by slowmovintarget »

Manfred wrote: post #15
raytopia wrote: post #8

Honestly it makes sense. I was always a little confused that non-gamedevs had to pay 0. Of course that could've also just been the plan to get VFX and other industries onto Unreal Engine so Epic Games could start charging them later. I'm also confused how Epic Games has become unprofitable suddenly. I think I read somewhere it was in the last 10 weeks but I could be wrong about that.

The strategy is to worm your product into companies and make people comfortable with (or depend on) your tools. When there is enough adoption, you slide in and claim a piece of the pie.

Which is a good strategy when you don't do it retroactively, and you do give time to switch. If your product is best of breed (which UE5 is) it would make sense.
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