The real problem with Unreal 5 is that it is gradually becoming an EPIC tool.
Editor’s note: This article comes from the WeChat public account nuclear “(ID: Coreesports) , author: kami.
A few days ago, EPIC used its “Unreal 5” engine to show off a muscle and brushed its presence.
This high-profile exposure of the new demo video has made players around the world feel the potential of the next era of game screens in advance, but also did not forget to praise the data throughput advantages of PS5 equipped with SSD, bringing a handful of people into the quagmire of public relations. Among them, Sony came to a successful commercial exchange.
The topic is temporarily back to Sony ’s PS5. Since Microsoft first announced almost all the hardware specifications and data of the Xbox Series X, the PS5 has been under a lot of pressure: In addition to the so-called “black technology” SSDs, the CPU and GPU data of the PS5 obviously lags behind the competition.
At the critical period when Sony was at the forefront of public opinion, EPIC sacrificed the magic trick of Unreal 5, which was quite famous. However, both EPIC and Sony know that the future PS5 3A masterpiece is almost impossible to use Unreal 5 development.
This is not news. Looking back at the 3A game that really stood at the top of the pyramid in the past two years, the Unreal 4 engine has almost no sense of existence. On the contrary, EPIC and its Unreal Engine are constantly pushing 2A and A-level game developers to accelerate.
In front of these developers, Kangzhuang Avenue certainly exists. But more are the high barriers and the bottomless cliffs.
Star Engine
The Internet has memories. Even now, you can still find a lot of unknown games under the banner of “Unreal 3 Engine Creation” in the search engine that have been obliterated in the long history of the game.
In 2009, EPIC launched the Unreal 3 engine revolutionThe tool UDK is available for free download and learning for game developers around the world, and hundreds of thousands of grassroots practitioners have direct access to this powerful, fast and efficient engine.
EPIC even released the game production authority. As long as the games made with UDK are not commercialized, they can be exempted from licensing and sharing fees.
EPIC’s series of marketing initiatives have stimulated core players, amateur game developers and ordinary game companies. Unreal 3 engine has created 3A-level masterpieces such as “War Machine”, “Bioshock”, “Mass Effect”, etc., which is rife in the player community; UDK’s powerful tools and plugins make amateur and ordinary developers easier Produced the top visual effects game DEMO.
For some small and medium-sized developers and production teams, the Unreal 3 engine allows them to see the possibility of self-improvement, and it is easier to draw cakes for the management and give players gimmicks.
Gradually, some players and developers have developed the illusion that they can enter the ranks of 3A with Unreal 3. Within a few years after the UDK was opened for free, the slogan “Unreal 3 Engine Creation” became a common marketing tool for small and medium developers to attract players. This strange phenomenon stemming from lack of self-confidence is especially serious in China at the bottom of the game’s contempt chain.
Time changes
Transition from PS2 / XBOX to PS3 / XBOX360 era, 3A masterpieces such as “War Machine” let the entire industry see a huge difference from the previous host generation.
This gap is not only due to the overall quality improvement created by the hardware and software upgrades, but also the development cost that has doubled. We use a more intuitive way to clarify this problem.
In 2000, a 3A-level PS2 game cost about $ 49.99.
In 2020, a 3A PS4 game will cost $ 59.99.
According to inflation calculations, US $ 49.99 in 2000 is equivalent to US $ 74.43 now, much higher than 59.99 USD.
As time changes and generations change, the human and material costs of game developers are increasing, but the profit of single products is decreasing. This requires traditional developers to make up for the huge deficit in game sales and create more Revenue. This has led to the high-quality resources of the game industry beginning to gather towards the top of the pyramid, the stronger the stronger.
Practitioners who cannot meet this prerequisite choose to sink, gradually forming low-cost ecosystems such as popular independent games and mobile games in recent years. These seemingly small and micro games have created huge market space with the addition of innovations such as F2P charges.
A and 2A level game developers sandwiched in the middle can only suffer bitterly. From the historical data, the 2A level is often purchased from games with six-digit sales. In recent years, 2A well-known new works, sales are still hovering at this level, if it is a series of masterpieces, there is even a tendency to decrease.
The topic returns to Unreal Engine. The charging model of the Unreal series engine is that commercial games developed using the engine need to pay 5% of the copyright fee for income, or sign a one-time licensing contract with a small amount.
After the oligopolistic advantages gradually established by 3A-level game developers, with sufficient funds and R & D capabilities, they must develop the inhouse engine to accumulate technology. Its advantage is a secret and undisclosed killer. We can even say that the current mainstream Unreal 4 engine is simply no match for the inhouse engine developed by the real 3A development team.
Looking back at the 3A games developed by Unreal Engine 4 in the past two years, only SE’s “Final Fantasy 7 Remastered Edition”. The reason why SE uses Unreal 4 is that the destruction of the “New Crystal Myth” led to the bankruptcy of the self-engined “Luminous” project, eager to make new products and return funds to fill the shortfall.
For the A and 2A teams, the Unreal 4 engine may be able to help them pass on the risk, but at the same time need to have sufficient strength and ability. The optimization of the Unreal series engine has been widely criticized in the game world. Not everyone can control it. “PUBG” is the best example of first-class design and third-rate research and development.
About the product, let us put it first. In addition to the above external reasons, the problems faced by Unreal Engine also come from within EPIC.
A / 2A platformization
EPIC’s attitude towards mobile games is not positive. Although a lot of work has been done on cross-platform, Unreal 4 is for most mobile gamesIn terms of drama, it is still too huge. EPIC has not actively made any changes and optimizations for the mobile terminal. It has always positioned the Unreal Engine at the high end and has not made strategic adjustments.
That part chose to sink and become an independent producer. The game developers who joined the small and micro team are actually the ones who need the game engine most. Whether it is a PC or a mobile platform, cost control is often their top priority, and Unreal Engine has no advantage. On the contrary, the Unity killed halfway swept the small and medium developers at a very fast rate, occupying half of the country in number.
Unity further lowers the entry threshold, labor and development costs, the payment threshold is much less than Unreal 4, and the functions and plug-ins are enough to meet the development of games below 2A level. Unity has not seized the market of Unreal Engine, but in the field where Unreal has almost nothing to do. In the same way, it has satisfied the game developers of their respective levels, and they have played a key role in their respective fields.
In terms of quantity, the number of games developed using the Unreal 4 engine has not decreased. It is still one of the best solutions in the game industry to meet most of the developers ’requirements. It ’s just that EPIC ’s negative attitude towards the blue ocean ca n’t help but let People have the general regret of “giving hands”.
The latest news is that the Unreal 5 engine raised the free threshold of $ 1 million at a stretch, which seems to be a preferential policy for small and medium developers. But besides this, the function promotion is still on par with 3A, so you should not see any change in the strategic direction of Unreal Engine in the near future.
The real problem with Unreal 5 is that it is gradually becoming a pure tool, EPIC’s tool.
In 2012, Tencent invested in EPIC and acquired more than 40% of the shares. This behavior caused a huge change in EPIC’s operating strategy: from development to service. The specific implementation plan is “de-3A” and “platform”.
Since 2012, a large number of senior executives and technical cores of EPIC have resigned, which makes the 3A level game project unsustainable. After the commercialization of the original Unreal Engine, the “Unreal” series of projects has beenIt was almost declared to cease. A series of storms in 2012 completely destroyed the remaining 3A-class masterpiece “War Machine”, and in 2014 the copyright was handed over to Microsoft.
After going to 3A, Battle Royale “Fortress Night” has become a successful case of EPIC strategic transfer.
“Fortress Night” has alleviated the regression of Unreal 4 engine revenue to a certain extent, but the nearly extinct PC-side online game positioning and the uncertainty of the popularity of the battle royale type have no way to bring Unreal Engine. Too much help.
Another radical plan for EPIC is to put yourself on the opposite side of STEAM. The game platform built by EPIC has aimed at STEAM from the beginning to draw too high chances of causing public complaints. High-profile game developers have even developed exclusive conditions: games developed using Unreal Engine can be eliminated if they are exclusive on the EPIC platform.5 % Of the income is drawn.
From a third-party perspective, it is difficult for us to evaluate whether EPIC’s strategy is right or wrong. However, for Unreal Engine, the changes in the company ’s business direction and strategy have actually produced some threats: without the support of 3A-level products, it is no longer possible to return to the same height as “Unreal 3 Engine Creation”; The policy for developers is still very expensive, after all, steam is still the oligarch of the game platform.
By the way, STEAM ’s 2019 game release data is basically the same as in 2018. The bonus period for the number of small and micro games has elapsed, and EPIC and STEAM are bound to face more intense fighting.
risks and burdens
There is a bottomless gap between 2A and 3A. If you want to cross the past, you will face huge investment and high risks.
Ready at Dawn, an outsourcer for “God of War: Chain of Olympus” and “God of War: Spartan Ghost”. These two rumored handheld games have gained both sales and word of mouth, and also made Ready at Dawn have a higher ambition: to become a 3A-level developer.
Sony provided funding and publicity resources; Santa Monica Studio of “God of War” provided technical support; it took 7 years to build its own ROD engine, Ready at Dawn bet on the independent development of the 3A-level exclusive project “Religion 1886 “.
As a result, Ready at Dawn lost, and Sony also lost. The limited R & D strength allowed it to reach its ceiling prematurely. In the end, “Religion 1886” could only be a vase game with a 3A-level picture performance.
3A games are changing from cultural and creative industries to labor-intensive industries. Nowadays, the 3A-level games at the top of the pyramid are all built by huge amounts of funds, the group scale of thousands of people, and pipeline operations. They have been invincible when the project was established. A large number of the world’s best talents, hundreds of millions or even billions of development costs, cost only 59 dollars to buy games, can it be fun?
3A has become a stable and profitable business. The investment risk is close to zero. There is no worry about where the money comes from, and where the talents are.
On the contrary, because of the investment risks, 2A has fallen into the dual difficulties of strength and capital, and market-related reasons have caused sales to lock up and fall into a vicious circle that cannot be rid of. The one-off sales model and the price of games that can’t keep up with the inflation rate have already reached a critical point that the profits of medium-sized developers can bear.
Every upgrade in the game industry often causes a surge in art and labor costs, and requires developers to further improve their R & D capabilities. The advent of the Unreal 5 engine is not a purely good thing for the majority of small and medium developers.
First of all, the standard has been raised again. 3A is bound to continue to lead the industry to a higher threshold, and 2A should also follow the general trend of progress. But the reality of revenue pressure has made 2A a dilemma and needs to find another way out.
On the other hand, the policies of Unreal Engine and EPIC have the problem of quenching thirst by drinking a dove, which comes from the two points of “dreaming” and “selecting sides”.
“Sammu”, which once dominated the development cost list for many years, resulted in a huge loss to the game series. “Samu 3” has a high voice among the players, and it is also a knot of producer Suzuki Yu.
However, in this era of 2019, the extremely failed commercialization of the “Sammu” brand and the old era R & D system attached to producers have no way to attract capital and talent.
Because the voice of the player group is too strong, this project is unlikely to make a small noise.