During the last console generation, game engines became one of the most important aspects of the industry. The Unreal Engine 3 was used in countless titles, and that was only one of the 'middleware' engines that developers used. Following the beginning of a new generation of consoles, the only thing that's changed is the names of the engines themselves.
One of the bigger names when it comes to game engines is Unity: while the Unreal engine has been almost entirely focused on more graphical power and fidelity, Unity has continued to focus on accessibility. It's more about letting anyone build the game they want, not necessarily creating the most powerful engine on the planet.
Now, with the official release of the Unity 5 engine, the company is that much closer to realizing its goals.
As you can see, Unity isn't just about polygons and shaders: there's a clear focus on artistic style, and some may argue that Unity supports that more than any other engine on the market. Unity's GDC 2015 highlight reel does a fine job of showing off some truly unique are, not just textures and particle effects.
For developers, the news only gets better. Instead of a standard licensing fee, Unity will be split into two packages: Personal and Professional. The Personal package is clearly focused on independent developers and smaller studios, as the engine itself is free to use; the only caveat is that the studios must have less than $100,000 in funding. The Professional package is for the larger studios with more of a budget, and is priced at $75 a month or $1,500 for an unlimited license.
It's a completely different model from the Unreal Engine: while the tech itself doesn't cost a thing, Unreal takes 5% per quarter after the game reaches $3,000 in sales. It's definitely not free, but it's drastically less than what other companies charge...aside from Unity, that is.
Overall, Unity and its engine are making huge strides towards making game development something that anyone can try. The tech works on over 20 platforms, includes the latest PhysX engines and - if you're a small enough studio - it won't cost you a dime.
For thousands of people, game development has always been something that's just out of reach - now, there's a good chance that the price barrier won't be an issue any longer.
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