Ilya Dudkin 21/01/2019 #Popular #Tips #VR 8 min readVirtual reality is getting a lot of attention recently and deservingly so. We now live in an era where the concept of a virtual world is no longer a sci-fi fantasy and you can hear virtual reality discussed in pretty much every media outlet or internet forum and you are bound to run into a discussion about the best virtual reality engine for development or the virtual environment as a whole. While there are so many debates that go on in the world of VR, in this article we will focus on which is better Unity or Unreal for VR development. Unity If any game developer were to be asked to list all of the tools that they love using, the Unity would be at the very top of the list. When Unity was introduced way back in 2005 it was one of the few VR engines that allowed a developer to create games in 2D and 3D. It supports the following languages for development: C# UnityScript Boo Unity is available as a free or pro version and supports all console, desk and web platforms. The free version supports iOS, Android as well as Windows while the more advanced Pro version supports systems such as PlayStation, Xbox 360 and other gaming consoles. It comes with a very affordable price tag with a large developer community, thus providing great value for such a powerful engine. However, it worth mentioning that the free version has the necessary number of features for a developer, who is just starting out, would have no trouble getting started. It offers a wide array of editing tools that can be used through a plug-in and supports an incredibly high amount of asset formats. The level that Unity has been able to achieve is certainly outstanding and it is no wonder that Call of Duty one of the most popular games of all time was created with Unity. We mentioned all of the positive aspects of Unity, but there are some downsides. There is a deficit of engine source code and there are still some collaboration issues that need to be dealt with. However, these issues do not significantly impede a developer’s ability to create premium quality games and there are certainly ways to work around these issues. Unreal Engine Unreal was created by Epic Games and it is the engine that is behind a lot of amazing, high action games that offer an unprecedented level of graphics and details. It has the longest track record as being the engine of choice for creating 3D games for PC and console as well. The newest version of the Unreal engine is Unreal Engine 4 and it may surprise a lot of people that this is one of the cheapest options for game lovers starting at $19 a month and 5% revenue kickback as long as the developer is receiving access to the engine and all of its features. Unreal Engine 4 supports only C++ and provides an amazing level of gaming performance. The technology that was used to create it is: Blueprint visual scripting system Matinee timeline-based machine Persona animation system It has the largest community of developers who provide support to anyone who is interested in creating VR games and it updates regularly to make sure that all the necessary updates have been installed and answer all of the questions that the community of users may have. Unreal supports all the big-name operating systems but it also supports Linux, PS4, Oculus, and many other technologies. It has all the tools necessary to provide developers with all of the aspects of 3D game development such as full source code extension, bug fixing, and customization. Unity vs Unreal Engine When discussing which is better: Unity or Unreal – note that the Unreal engine is better for 3D game development while Unity has more of a history with mobile game development. However, when comparing Unity3d vs Unreal Engine, the bottom line is that if a company is trying to occupy the mobile development niche and does not have a very big budget for producing VR games, it would be better to choose Unity as the engine that will power your games. If you are scouring the market for a high quality, big budget console game that has an unbelievable team of developers that are available to you then you should choose Unreal Engine. We have spent a lot of time comparing Unreal vs Unity 2018, but the choice should ultimately depend on what you are trying to build and the niche that you are looking to settle into on the market. Take a long hard look at what you have developed recently in VR and 3D and ask yourself whether or not you see your company moving in this direction in the future. A lot will depend on financial, constraints since it takes a lot of time and resources to come with games that have an amazing level of detail and awesome graphics. Skywell Software is an experienced AR/VR development company and will always be there for you regardless of what your needs may be. We have extensive experience developing with both Unity and Unreal engines and we would be more than happy to help your business develop high quality customized solutions to solve your business needs.