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Unreal Engine VS Amazon Lumberyard

Compare Unreal Engine VS Amazon Lumberyard and see what are their differences

Unreal Engine logo Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.

Amazon Lumberyard logo Amazon Lumberyard

Amazon Lumberyard is a free AAA game engine deeply integrated with AWS and Twitch – with full...
  • Unreal Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • Amazon Lumberyard Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-24

Unreal Engine features and specs

  • High-Quality Graphics
    Unreal Engine is known for its ability to produce stunning, high-quality graphics and realistic environments, making it a preferred choice for AAA game development and high-fidelity visual projects.
  • Blueprint Visual Scripting
    Unreal Engine offers a visual scripting system called Blueprints, which allows designers to create complex game logic without any programming knowledge, streamlining the development process.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Unreal Engine provides robust support for multiple platforms, including PC, consoles, mobile devices, and VR/AR headsets, enabling developers to reach a wider audience with minimal hassle.
  • Large and Active Community
    The Unreal Engine community is large and active, offering extensive resources, tutorials, and forums which can be invaluable for troubleshooting and learning new techniques.
  • Regular Updates
    Epic Games frequently updates Unreal Engine, adding new features, improvements, and optimizations to keep developers equipped with the latest technology advancements.
  • Marketplace
    The Unreal Engine Marketplace offers a vast array of assets, ranging from 3D models to plugins, which can significantly speed up the development process by providing ready-to-use resources.

Possible disadvantages of Unreal Engine

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive features and capabilities, Unreal Engine can be challenging for beginners to master, requiring a significant investment of time and effort to learn.
  • High System Requirements
    Developing with Unreal Engine often requires a powerful computer with strong hardware specifications, which can be a barrier for developers with limited resources.
  • Large File Sizes
    Unreal Engine projects can result in large file sizes, which can be cumbersome to manage, particularly in terms of storage and transfer bandwidth.
  • Complexity for Simple Projects
    For smaller or simpler projects, the capabilities of Unreal Engine might be overkill, and using it can unnecessarily complicate development when compared to lighter engines.
  • Royalty Fees
    Unreal Engine imposes a royalty fee of 5% on gross revenue after the first $1 million USD per product per year, which can impact the profitability of commercial projects.
  • Less C++ Flexibility
    While Unreal Engine supports C++, the engine imposes certain constraints and abstractions that can limit the flexibility developers might need for highly customized or optimized code.

Amazon Lumberyard features and specs

  • Free to Use
    Amazon Lumberyard is available for free, with no seat fees, subscription fees, or requirements to share revenue. You only pay for the AWS services you choose to use.
  • Integration with AWS
    Lumberyard is tightly integrated with AWS cloud services, making it easy to build cloud-connected games with features like cloud processing, storage, and analytics.
  • AAA Quality
    Lumberyard provides high-quality graphics and features suitable for developing AAA games, including advanced visual scripting, physics, and animation tools.
  • Twitch Integration
    Direct integration with Twitch allows developers to include rich interactive and social functions within their games, enhancing the player experience and engagement.
  • Open Source
    With access to Lumberyard’s source code, developers have complete control over customization and optimization to fit specific project needs.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Lumberyard supports multiple platforms including PC, consoles, and mobile, allowing developers to reach a larger audience.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon Lumberyard

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The engine has a complex interface and extensive features, which may present a steep learning curve for newcomers and small teams.
  • Limited Documentation
    Compared to more established engines, Lumberyard’s documentation and tutorials are limited, which can make learning and troubleshooting more difficult.
  • Relatively New
    Being a younger engine, Lumberyard may not have the same level of community support and third-party resources as more established game engines.
  • AWS Dependency
    Although cloud integration is a pro, it also means a dependency on AWS services, which could complicate costs or lock-in for developers who want to use other cloud providers.
  • Performance Overhead
    Due to its rich feature set and high-quality graphics, Lumberyard may have higher performance overhead, requiring powerful hardware for development and testing.
  • Lack of Asset Store
    Unlike some other engines, Lumberyard does not have a comprehensive, built-in asset store, limiting immediate access to ready-made assets for prototyping and development.

Unreal Engine videos

Why I switched over to Unreal Engine 4 From Unity 5

More videos:

  • Review - Unity vs Unreal Engine | Graphics, Workflow, Price, Level Design and More! (2017-2018)
  • Review - Game Development | Intro to Unreal Engine 4 | No Prior Programming Knowledge

Amazon Lumberyard videos

Where does Amazon Lumberyard currently stand? (Review)

More videos:

  • Review - Amazon Lumberyard 1.21 Released

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Unreal Engine and Amazon Lumberyard)
Game Development
83 83%
17% 17
Game Engine
82 82%
18% 18
3D Game Engine
79 79%
21% 21
3D
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Unreal Engine and Amazon Lumberyard

Unreal Engine Reviews

Top 13 Picks for Maxon Cinema 4D Alternatives in 2024
Designed by Epic Games, Unreal Engine is a comprehensive 3D graphics engine initially developed for PC gaming. Since its inception in 1998, it supports a wide array of platforms, including mobile, console, and VR. It is known for its versatility and power in a broad spectrum of industries like film and television.
Source: aircada.com
Game Engines: A Comparative Analysis
Developed by Epic Games, Unreal Engine stands as a titan in the industry, renowned for its stunning graphics and realistic visual effects. It excels in AAA game development, with a powerful rendering engine and an intuitive visual scripting system called Blueprints. Unreal Engine’s prowess lies in its ability to deliver top-notch graphics and cinematic experiences.
Source: medium.com
Best Unity alternatives for game development
Unreal Engine has become one of the most popular engines to date; it's one of the top-of-the-line gaming engines that produces high graphical fidelity and realism for many games. In fact, many mobile games (Injustice 2, Life is Strange) that look incredible are likely using the Unreal Engine. It's a number one choice that often goes head-to-head with Unity due to its great...
Best Game Engines for 2023 – Which Should You Use?
However, many game developers do report that Unreal Engine is better suited for larger projects and projects you intend to work on as a team. Additionally, as the program is heavy on the graphics end, many people will find it requires a more powerful computer compared to other engines like Unity. Beyond this, it is also noteworthy that while Unreal Engine can create 2D games...
The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023
2022 saw the official launch of Unreal Engine 5, and it’s already shaping up to be a game changer for game development. Most next-gen consoles, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are already using it, and its powerful tools such as Lumen and Nanite (an engine that imports high-detailed photographic source material – taking advantage of its past acquisition of Quixel)...

Amazon Lumberyard Reviews

The Best Gaming Engines You Should Consider for 2023
Powered by Amazon Web Services, a secure cloud platform built and maintained by Amazon, integration through Lumberyard means it’s significantly easier to build games with online play. It has good native support for C++, P2P, and client topology. Lumberyard also supports Autodesk Maya and Adobe Photoshop.
What Are the Best Game Engines?
CryEngine is a cross-platform engine. You can use it to create photorealistic first-person games, especially shooters. CryEngine is used in all games from CryTek, as well as other studios. As mentioned above, CryEngine was licensed and reworked to create Amazon Lumberyard.
The Top 10 Video Game Engines
Amazon Lumberyard is the engine built by Amazon (as the name suggests). According to the site, Lumberyard is “Free. Powerful. Fully Customizable.” The game engine has “no royalties or seat fees, frictionless integration with Twitch and AWS, plus much more on the horizon.”
Top 10 Mobile Game Development Tools For Intellectual Games
Amazon Lumberyard wrote in C++ and Lua scripting language and launched by Amazon. It is a cross-platform AAA game engine based on CryEngine with easy AWS and Twitch integration. Lumberyard is free, and it doesn’t require seat licenses, royalties, or subscriptions but only standard AWS fees for acquired AWS services.
Source: unaryteam.com
11 tools to get you started making video games
Learning tools: There is a free series of getting started tutorial videos and video talks on more specific features in the engine. There is also a free training course on how to use Lumberyard with AWS.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Amazon Lumberyard seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Unreal Engine mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Unreal Engine yet. Tracking of Unreal Engine recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Amazon Lumberyard mentions (9)

  • Do you think that Star Atlas could be a worthy competitor to Star Citizen?
    Although, whatever the deal might've been, Amazon has since donated Lumberyard to the Open 3D Foundation which renamed it to the Open 3D Engine (O3DE) so they probably don't care nearly as much about upstream fixes anymore if they ever did. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Unity fires manager who tweeted the company is "out of touch"
    When I Googled Amazon Lumberyard, this was the first hit: https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What are some of the most impressive uses of photogrammetry in games that you've seen?
    Some of the game engines we have now have photogrammetry technology built-in, meaning that developers can easily integrate it into their games. This allows for even more detailed and realistic environments to be created in 3D games. The most prominent being Unreal, Unity, and Lumberyard -- including new and beginner-friendly ones like Panda3D and Yahaha. All of these game engines have photogrammetry at their core... Source: about 2 years ago
  • By the time the patch hits all servers will be dead
    It really doesn't help that it started development on Lumberyard which is now a dead product. https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Is PES unique?
    Amazon has apparently declared Lumberyard dead, incidentally: https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Unreal Engine and Amazon Lumberyard, you can also consider the following products

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Blender - Blender is the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.

CryENGINE - The most powerful game development platform is now available to everyone. Full engine source code.

GDevelop - GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone.

Cocos2d - Cocos2d