Unity vs. Unreal: What to Choose for Your Game?

By: Polymator InteractiveJune 12, 2023

Game Engines are the foundation of creating video games, and when it comes to the selection of Game Engines, two top giants always make it difficult for game developers and clients – Unity and Unreal. They both include massive tools, plugins, libraries, and customization features to design fantastic entertaining games.

Both gaming engines are prominent for creating games that keep players hooked and keep them coming back to play more. Each game engine has its specific set of features to perform a particular set of tasks.

With the game development industry booming and cutting-edge software evolving consistently to create immersive gaming worlds, game development companies and developers need clarification about which gaming engine to pick from Unity or Unreal.

In this blog, we will walk you through the ultimate difference between both to clarify which one to choose.

What is Unity Engine?

It was launched by Unity Technologies in 2005 and initially designed for OS X Games. Nowadays, you can develop cross-platform games, 2D & 3D games with the Unity game engine. With its vast asset store, versatile tools, handy tutorials, online courses, and easy-to-learn language code, it is a top pick for developers worldwide. Unity has a huge community of developers of different expertise levels.

What is Unreal Engine?

It was created by Epic Games in 1988 and is renowned for its high-end graphics & photorealistic, which makes it possible to bring any game vision to life. It helps game developers implement any game idea into a playable advanced video game for various genres. Several successful games worldwide have been developed using Unreal.

Difference between Unity and Unreal in terms of critical factors

Versatility

As a game developer, you always want to choose a game engine that offers outstanding versatility, allowing you to work on multiple game types. Hence, many game developers look towards Unity and Unreal, as they provide flexibility for a wide range of games.

The following is the range of games that you can develop with Unreal and Unity, which will clarify which to choose according to your project suitability:

AR & VR Games

Both gaming engines can create enthralling immersive worlds and keep the players on the edge of their seats with their captivating gaming experience. However, Unity outperforms Unreal when it comes to AR & VR Projects.

Mobile Games

Hands Down! Unity is one of the top preferences for many game developers for mobile game development compared to Unreal because of its broad categories of tools, libraries, and features for creating fascinating mobile games.

2D & 3D Games

Both game engines offer significant capabilities to build premiere quality immersive graphics. However, Unreal is an ideal & optimal choice for 3D visuals, and Unity has a vast toolset for 2D Animation Production.

Multiplayer Games

You can create magnificent Multiplayer games with both game engines. However, Unreal has rich integrated support than Unity. You can use third-party frameworks along with Unity to develop Multiplayer games.

Coding

Both Unity & Unreal have a visual code editor. Unity has Prefab & Unity has Blueprint. In Unity, codes are written using C# language and C++ in Unreal. Unity uses C#, and Unreal uses C++. C# provides faster iteration & compile times.

In Unreal, you don’t require in-depth technical knowledge of codes or basic comprehension of writing them. Developers can develop games through tools in Blueprint, which are valid code pieces. You can make nodes & connect them in just a few steps to build game logic.

In Unity, beginners have the upper hand as it is straightforward to learn & utilize. It has a user-friendly interface & simple architecture. Programs in Unity inform users about incorrect code and issues.

Rendering

Rendering helps optimize post-processing game development. Hence, it is critical to select a top gaming engine. When it comes to quality & rendering speed, Unreal is better than Unity due to the industry-leading rendering speeds & supreme quality rendered graphics.

Graphics Quality

Unreal is undoubtedly the leader in terms of stellar graphics production. It has ready-to-use tools, which are customizable. Game artists can access volumetric lights, lenses, flares, proper lighting, and shadows with an aesthetically pleasing smooth falloff.

In Unity, you can achieve AAA-quality results, but it is time-consuming. It supports normal & occlusion maps, standing shading features, and base textures. However, it lacks shading details & advanced material editor, which is in Unreal.

Asset Store

Both gaming engines offer rich Asset stores allowing users to download free & paid shading, textures, props, and more. However, the Unity asset store offers countless assets, making it a grandiose asset bank for users. Unreal is more oriented towards completed game productions used previously in AAA games and offers superior visual quality.

Conclusion

After reading the blog, you will have clarity between both gaming engines in terms of critical factors. To summarize, Unity has a rich Asset store and faster iteration & compile time. Beginners can quickly learn & utilize Unity for game development. However, in terms of rendering & graphics quality, Unreal has a significant upper hand over Unity.

At Polymator, we offer Unity Game Development Services. We have a highly experienced & skilled game developers team ready to take up any project of different scales & complexity. Contact us for your mobile video game consultation and quotation. And alternatively, please email us your game requirements at contact@polymator.com.

About Author: Polymator Interactive
KP is a veteran of the gaming industry with over 22+ years of experience in Mobile Games, 3D graphics and AR-VR Apps. As the founder and CEO, he is a driving force behind some of the industry's most innovative and cutting-edge projects.
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