Exploring Popular Game Engines: A Comparative Overview

Developing a video game has never been more accessible than it is today, but with countless engines to choose from, it is hard to know which is right for you. Gaming engines are pretty comparable to computer or mobile operating systems in the sense that some are very user-friendly, whereas others are more complex but allow for deeper designs. In this article, we will hash out the pros and cons of using some of the market’s most popular software and explore a few lesser-known development engines as well. If you ever need assistance, our experts at Argentics can work beside you on Unreal, Unity, and many more engines to help develop your dream game!

Developed by Epic Games, Unreal Engine powers a lot of popular games on today’s market. Its extreme versatility makes it a viable option for PC, console, and mobile games alike. It is one of the most user-friendly software on the market, but it still gives creators the freedom and flexibility to draft any game they desire. One of the biggest contributions that Unreal made to the gaming industry was developing a way to shift graphic renderings away from the CPU and onto the GPU. In layman’s terms, they created breathing room for the brains of your PC or console by shifting a lot of the workload over to the processor that creates the on-screen image. This was a monumental breakthrough when first introduced in the 1990s and proved that there was no ceiling to how refined the gaming industry would become.

Unlike Frostbite, Unreal Engine is available for free to use! The owners of the platform charge just 5% of profits from games that gross over $1 million. This means that it costs aspiring developers nothing to create a game using Unreal and will only cost them a nominal fee after their game hits it big. This no-risk model is directly responsible for the massive volume of indie games flooding today's markets. This allows young dreamers to create a game as a proof of concept and have their title picked up by a big-time developer if it shows promise. Unreal engine allows for ultra-realistic sims like Hell Let Loose to materialize in a world of arcade shooters and also lets series like Metal Gear Solid break into a genre already dominated by industry giants. As the great Scottish philosopher Adam Smith once said, “A market in perfect competition creates the greatest possible good.” For every new game that hits the market using Unreal, large studios will feel more and more pressure to put out a competitive product.

Unreal Engine has a highly intuitive workflow chart that makes it easy for visual learners and creators to see their whole project in one snapshot. The mechanic is especially useful when programming dialogue or missions with multiple possible outcomes. For more information on the huge array of gamebuilding tools offered by Unreal, visit their webpage at The most powerful real-time 3D creation tool - Unreal Engine.

Unreal Engine's marketplace offers a vast array of assets, plugins, and tools that help developers bring their ideas to life and can also spark genius in moments of writer’s block. The platform boasts some of the most robust visuals in the industry, with Unreal Engine 5 perfecting shadowing and ray-tracing to create some genuinely lifelike environs. Players often do not comment on details like these, but they add a subliminal layer of realism that you won’t notice until it’s gone.

Unreal has a jaw-dropping amount of assets and mechanics ready to be used. This is excellent when placed in the right set of hands, but can be daunting for startup teams to approach. Likewise, the game is coded in C++, which requires extensive studying to master. The code is a staple of programming degrees in colleges across the world, but is yet another barrier to using Unreal. The detail required to use this engine makes it nearly impossible for a person to use alone, and requires a sizable team to operate effectively. This means that a decent amount of capital is needed before launching a project on Unreal in order to meet deadlines and keep employees paid.

Unreal is best suited for thought-out projects with the human and financial resources required to support large-scale development. That said, it is the best tool on the market for creating ultra-realistic sims and shooters, and offers just about anything a developer could ever need. Though coding and plugin use is a bit tricky, the workflow visualization makes it easy to see how all of your pieces are fitting together at any stage of development. If you have questions about Unreal before diving into a project, reach out to Argentics and one of our brilliant consultants can help you coordinate your project, and get you in touch with our artists, designers, and developers.

First announced at an Apple convention in 2005, the Unity platform cut its teeth as the primary provider for IOS games in the early days of Mac and iPhone gaming. Though having notoriety as an Apple-first platform, Unity is compatible with PC, console, and Android devices as well. The platform first sprung into the public eye with the release of the timeless Kerbal Space Program. This zany game best demonstrates the platform's versatility, featuring wonky character animations alongside NASA-level physics calculations. The adaptability and ease-of-use of Unity has made it the backbone of the indie market, and could be the perfect choice for your next game.

Unity was one of the first engines to be released to the masses in an era where at-home game development was finally accessible to regular folks. Because of this, it has one of the most robust support networks imaginable. The cavemen trying to manipulate the engine back in the day have threaded massive networks of tutorials and FAQs across Reddit and other forums. Since then, Unity has stayed true to its roots, and much of this advice is still helpful today.

An upside to Unity is that it runs on C# code, which was developed fifteen years after C++ in an attempt to make a simpler, object-oriented code. Veterans of the C family will have no trouble adapting, but for newcomers, C# is easier to learn. On top of this, Unity provides a more modest workstation than Unreal or Frostbite, making it more approachable for small teams or even individuals. On top of this, the platform offers a free course called Unity Learn that will teach you how to navigate the interface and use popular plugins. This makes Unity a great place for aspiring developers to start their careers.

The simplicity of Unity compared to other engines hampers its abilities in a few ways. The most notable are the engine’s visuals. While it is a great choice for mobile and 2D games, Unity does not have the power to lay down ultra-realistic graphics like other engines. This isn’t the end of the world for most titles, but steer clear of Unity if you are trying to develop a realistic simulator, or want cinema-level cutscenes. Another trade-off between Unity and larger engines is its action-sequencing. Action inputs are simpler to use on Unity, but at the cost of high-level detail. It is possible to code high-paced action with Unity, perhaps best displayed in the survival game Rust, but you will not see lifelike weapon reloads or character movement like you might on other engines.

Unity has proved that it is possible for indie developers to compete with the big dogs for their share of attention. The engine is one of the quickest to learn and most intuitive to use. Though it can’t create the most detailed work, creative minds that worked within the engine’s limits have churned out masterpieces such as Cities: Skylines and Among Us, not to mention timeless mobile games like Angry Birds and Subway Surfers. Growing nostalgia and the rising popularity of alternate art forms means that not every game needs to have drop-dead 4k graphics, and developers using Unity have shown us this time and again. If you have a smaller project or a fun idea for a mobile game, Unity could be the perfect engine for you. It is a great platform to start your journey with, but is not simply child’s play, as top tier developers use it every day.

Similar to Unity, Godot is a solid platform for hobbyists and those new to the industry. Developed in Buenos Aires in 2014, the user-friendly platform prides itself on being accessible and straightforward. The platform can function on C+ or C# code, one of the few in the industry to accept both. On top of this, Godot has its own code, coined GDScript, which simplifies much of the jargon associated with classic coding languages. The common language and official tutorials on Godot’s website make their platform easy to approach. Though they still play second fiddle to Unity in indie development, Godot is trying to carve out its own legacy as an engine that anyone can use.

Godot has templates for both 2D and 3D worlds. Both systems are effective, but having a dedicated 2D worldbuilder helps GoDot stand out from other small engines. The engine makes it easy to drag and drop your background rendering into the environment and has ample tools to help animate your characters. Furthermore, GDScript eliminates the need for complex lines of code when creating simple interactions. There is still a learning curve, but the highly integrated system will have you spending more time creating dialogue and action and less time trying to suss out that one missing apostrophe in your wall of code.

Because of its simplicity, Godot has its fair share of shortcomings. Its graphics are nothing to write home to mom about, and its 3D animations leave a bit to be desired. Godot is a relatively new engine, which makes it harder to find information and tutorials outside of the engine’s main website. Likewise, GDScript is a fantastic idea and a concept that will continue to be tried on other engines, but the niche code is limited to Godot, which makes it harder to outsource work, or even find information on how to write it. The world is due for a simpler coding script, but it doesn’t make sense for someone proficient in a C language to switch over to GDScript as it isn’t going to be implemented elsewhere anytime soon. That said, it is super convenient for hobbyists not interested in learning a more complex code.

Godot currently only supports the development of PC and mobile games. Its approachable interface and simple coding make it best suited for small mobile titles, but that doesn’t mean it’s incapable of creating memorable games. Nightmare in Squidville and Endoparasitic were developed using Godot and remain some of the most popular titles on the web today. If you’re just starting and want to give gamedev a try, give Godot a shot and try to prove your worth! A large studio might like your idea and sign you on to their team to hash out an even bigger game.

EA's Frostbite is one of the most renowned and sophisticated engines on the market. It made a massive splash in 2008 when used to power Battlefield: Bad Company, and became increasingly popular with each iteration of the Battlefield franchise. Frostbite made ripples due to two key features: audio unique to each player and destructive environments in first-person shooters. Way back in 2008, it was revolutionary for each player to experience the loudness and location of a gunshot differently based on their in-game location. This quickly became an industry standard and helped forge all the shooters we play today. The second main feature, destructible environments, was the biggest leap forward ever taken in the gaming world. Buildings, cars, and trees were no longer sessile parts of the environment but could be destroyed with an RPG shot or perforated with heavy machine gun fire. Similar mechanics quickly became a mainstay of other flagship franchises like Call of Duty and are the backbone of some of the hottest shooters on the market, such as Rainbow Six: Siege.

Though initially designed for first-person shooters, Frostbite has evolved to support a wide variety of genres. It leverages its graphical capabilities and emphasis on realism to create some of the best simulators out there, from the Star Wars Battlefront series to sports titles such as Fifa and Madden. Its advanced lighting and rendering techniques allow developers to create realistic environments that mimic their real-world counterparts. If immersion is your goal, then Frostbite is the tool for you.

Sadly, Frostbite was developed and is owned by EA. Access to this platform is exclusive to their studios and unavailable to the masses. Electronic Arts will continue to churn out fantastic AAA titles using this software, but for most of us, it will remain an untouchable fruit. That said, the platform has set steep industry standards and continually forces contenders to up their game to compete.

Choosing the right game engine can be tough. Much depends on your team’s expertise, the project’s scope, and the budget. While Frostbite sets a high bar for the industry, its software is unavailable to most developers. Thus, it is wise to take your pick from Unreal, Unity, or Godot. Each has pros and cons regarding ease of use, platform accessibility, and cost, so weigh your options and choose which is best for you. For blossoming creatives, we also recommend GameMaker and Amazon studios. Though they do not offer the technical capabilities of the platforms above, they offer very easy-to-use platforms for brilliant writers and artists trying to showcase their work. Remember, whichever platform you choose, Argentics always has consultants ready to help you! Our expert teams can work with any game engine and help integrate your ideas, art, or story into a modern masterpiece.