Unity vs Unreal Engine: Pros and Cons

The game engine is the foundation of creating video games. It includes a large number of tools, libraries, plugins, and customization features that allow you to design unique entertainment products. And in this realm of game architecture, there are two main giants – Unity and Unreal.

It is pointless to answer the question of which one is better. The fact is that each of them serves a specific purpose. The question of which is better Unity or Unreal often depends on the type of project you are working on. And once you understand what your goal is and become aware of the capabilities of these engines, the answer will appear by itself.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to know Unity vs Unreal engine in more detail.

Before We Begin

We will allow ourselves a small digression. If you’re interested in other engines besides the two key ones, you can check out our material on the top 5 engines, which also includes our current contenders.

We also have large-scale material covering all aspects of Unity in greater detail: statistics, pricing, pros and cons, game examples, Unity developer rates around the world, and so on. We invite you to find out if Unity game development services are exactly what you need. And yes, ignore the clickbait title. Of course, it was meant that Unity is the best for its purposes.

Dive Deeper:
✔ The Very Difference Between Game Design and Game Development You Always Wanted to Know
✔ Unity − What Makes It the Best Game Engine?

Unity Features

Unity is the most famous cross-platform engine, especially popular for mobile game development and indie development.

Unity supports development for over 25 platforms including mobile, desktop, web, console, and AP/XP platforms. Thus, this engine will be your undoubted choice if you are planning cross-platform development. Especially if you want to cover mobile development, as over 70% of all mobile games are made with Unity. The engine offers Lightweight Render Pipeline – a prebuilt Scriptable Render Pipeline that allows graphics to be scaled to low-level mobile platforms.

Development on Unity is considered optimal for beginners and those who are just planning to enter the gaming niche. The interface of the engine is simple and intuitive, and the native language is C#, which is quite easy to learn. The engine also offers access to the Unity Asset Store, a marketplace where developers can create and sell 2D and 3D assets and environments that can greatly speed up and simplify development.

Games Made Using Unity

The list of games made in Unity is truly endless. Notable examples include:

1. Ori And The Blind Forest (Metroidvania)
2. Cuphead (Run and gun)
3. Pillars Of Eternity (RPG)
4. Genshin Impact (Action RPG)
5. Cities: Skylines (City-building simulation)

Did you know? Unlike other engines, Unity is used not only in the gaming industry. He also performs well in such areas as cinematography, architecture, engineering, construction, automotive, and even military.

Unity Game Engine Pros & Cons

Note that the shortcomings we propose are rather not disadvantages, but features of the engine that may prevent certain tasks from being performed. This applies to any engine from the pair Unity vs Unreal. You can find out more detailed information about the specifics of Unity and its pros and cons in our Unity study.

Unreal Engine Features

Unreal is a game engine originally created for PC first-person shooters that has become a technological canon for creating AAA games with state-of-the-art graphics.

The main feature of Unreal is its support for high-definition graphics, including next-gen physics, lighting, visual effects, and more. Written in C++, Unreal offers high portability and covers key gaming platforms: mobile, desktop, console, and AR/VR. While a Blueprint Visual Scripting system with a node-based interface can help you get started, the full power of Unreal can only be unleashed by knowing and using C++.

The focus of the engine is on AAA-quality PC and console products – considered the industry standard for top games, Unreal is actively used to showcase the latest and most amazing advances in graphical realism. And while some of the major developers of the most famous games prefer to use their proprietary engines, Unreal remains the top commercial AAA development software.

It’s focus is clearly on high-end development, but is Unreal Engine good for smaller-scale projects or beginners? Although it’s not an obvious choice for newbies, its Blueprint Visual Scripting system provides an accessible entry point for new developers.

Games Made Using Unreal 

Games made with Unreal are usually the top representatives of their genres. For example, you may have heard the most famous of them:

1. Fortnite (Battle royale)
2. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Action-adventure)
3. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Action-adventure)
4. The Witcher 4 (Adventure ARPG)
5. Silent Hill 2 Remake (Adventure psychological horror)
6. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (RPG FPS Survival horror)

Unreal Engine Pros & Cons

As we have already said, the shortcomings of the engine are not so objective disadvantages as certain inconveniences in a specific context. For example, no one will deny that using the heavy and powerful Unreal Engine game development services is absolutely inappropriate for elementary mobile games. But this is not at all its disadvantage. In any case, you can learn a little more about Unreal in our comparison material on best game engines.

Similarities Between Unity and Unreal

Despite the fairly obvious differences between the Unity engine vs Unreal engine, they certainly have some things in common. Both engines support a fairly large number of platforms – mobile, desktop, consoles, AP/VR, and so on. Although Unity is unrivaled in terms of cross-platform features, Unreal also has something to offer. Both engines have a huge community and a large number of lessons and tutorials. They support multiplayer and VR, have asset libraries, and are basically free with certain conditions. Both can produce AAA graphics, but Unreal still has a clear advantage here in a side-by-side comparison.

Differences Between Unity and Unreal

The main Unreal Engine vs Unity difference is the language they are written in. For Unity it’s C#, for Unreal it’s C++. C# is easier to learn, its hierarchy is simple and clear. C++, in turn, often includes features that are quite difficult to understand. From this follows the purpose of the engines. C# (Unity) is more suitable for mobile and web applications, as well as not very heavy desktop products. C++ (Unreal) is great for heavy-weight large-scale projects that require high performance from the hardware. So, when evaluating Unity vs Unreal performance, the latter clearly has an advantage.

Unity vs Unreal: Head-to-Head Comparison

Let’s summarize everything we’ve learned about the difference between Unity and Unreal.

Unity vs Unreal: Minimum hardware requirements

Before making the final choice, make sure that your hardware is suitable. Unreal is quite resource-intensive, while Unity is more accessible. Here are the details.

Unreal or Unity: What Engine to Choose

So, you might ask, “Should I use Unity or Unreal?” As with many other aspects, it all depends on your goals.