Updated May 2, 2023
Difference Between Unreal Engine and CryEngine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine. Developers utilize the Unreal Engine’s C++ code for high portability in various game genres, such as stealth, fighting, role-playing games (RPGs), and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Unreal Engine provides two methods that are C++ and Blueprints Visual Scripting, to create new gameplay elements. CryEngine, just like the Unreal Engine, is a game engine. The developers of CryEngine coded and wrote the software using C++, Lua, and C#. These programming languages provide various functionalities for creating applications, including strong typing, declarative and functional programming, and object-oriented programming.
Unreal engine
- A prominent games company called Epic Games developed Unreal Engine, a source-available software game engine. The developer, formerly known as Potomac Computer Systems and later as Epic MegaGames, Inc., is based in Cary, North Carolina.
- Epic MegaGames, Digital Extremes, and Legend Entertainment developed the first-person shooter game “Unreal,” published by GT Interactive in May 1998. They first showcased Unreal Engine in 1998 for this game. The C++ programmer programs their favorite IDE (usually Microsoft Visual Studio or Apple’s Xcode), whereas the designer designs the Unreal Editor’s Blueprint Editor.
- On September 4, 2014, Epic released its updated and current release, i.e. Unreal Engine 4, designed for Microsoft Windows, Android, etc. Its release was also free for schools and universities. It included personal copies for students enrolled in accredited video game development, art, and computer science, simulation such as liquid or smoke, and architectural and visualization programs.
CryEngine
- Crytek GmbH, a German video game and software developer based in Frankfurt, Germany, developed CryEngine, a game engine.
- In its previous initial version, Far Cry, a franchise of first-person shooter video games currently published by Ubisoft, used CryEngine. CryEngine continues receiving further updates, supporting new consoles and hardware for its games.
- Under the name Crytek, many popular third-party games such as Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 and SNOW have used CryEngine for their development and licensing. Various unknown reports circulated rumors in April 2015 stating that Amazon had bought the license for CryEngine from Crytek for 50 – 70 million dollars. During that time, Amazon started reworking on its own and extended its version of CryEngine under the name of Amazon Lumberyard in February 2016.
Head To Head Comparison Between Unreal Engine and CryEngine (Infographics)
Below are the top 9 differences between Unreal Engine vs CryEngine
Key differences between Unreal Engine and CryEngine
Both are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major Difference
- Unreal Engine 4, abbreviated as (UE4), is a brand new engine with some unbelievable graphical abilities like advanced dynamic lighting capabilities and a new particle system that can support up to a million particles simultaneously in a scene.
- CryEngine is considered an extremely powerful engine with graphical capabilities surpassing Unity and UDK. Still, it is as good as Unreal Engine 4, with the highest lighting effects, realistic physic controls, developed animation techniques, etc.
- It’s believed that the most valid reason people choose to use Unreal Engine 4 is that the engine gives its users full access to source code licensed to developers for a 5% royalty on resulting revenue if it exceeds $3000 per quarter.
- For CryEngine, the best part is its online marketplace that enables its developers to access and operate individual assets from thousands of materials, sounds, and 3D objects that the community fully owns. Crytek’s library assets are also available for users to pick on.
- Unreal engine fully allows the texture/material artist or Visual effects artist, just like a creator who can feel imaginative to create beautiful effects from the beginning.
- CryEngine has a difference in opinion that glorifies it by rendering scenes of nature. The Cry Engine enables incredibly detailed vegetation and weather effects, among other features.
Unreal Engine vs CryEngine Comparison Table
Below is the topmost comparison:
| UNREAL ENGINE | CRYENGINE |
| Unreal Engine also called as a source-available game engine that was developed by Epic Games. | CryEngine is a game engine which was designed by the German game developer Crytek. |
| Unreal engine is specially coded and written in C++, and it also features a high degree of portability. | CryEngine features are coded and written in C++, Lua, and C#. |
| The Unreal engine was initially a base for i.e. first-person shooter game Unreal. | CryEngine was initially used in Fr Cry (Ubisoft has published overall versions). |
| The unreal engine has a strong development community history, which has added a lot of support. | CryEngine has a small history of development community added to its users’ support. |
| Unreal Engine stands better in ranking, i.e. Unreal Engine 4 is ranked 2nd s compared to CryEngine. | It stands slightly below in terms of ranking, i.e. CryEngine is ranked 7th compared to CryEngine. |
| Its console targets are PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. | Its console targets are Xbox One and PS4. |
| The latest version supports HTML5, Magic Leap One and virtual reality, PlayStation VR, Google Daydream, etc. | The latest version, i.e. CryEngine 5.4, now supports DX12 and Vulkan. |
| The unreal engine has its way of allowing the texture/material artist or Visual effects artist to create beautiful effects from the beginning. | The rendering of natural scenes is a strong suit of CryEngine, which enables incredibly detailed vegetation and weather effects, among other features. |
| It had its initial release in May 1998. | CryEngine had its initial release in May 2002. |
Conclusion
Unreal Engine vs CryEngine is always considered the AAA standard engine. Both Unreal engines vs CryEngine have the tools to help create the desired graphical interface you need. Regarding the Unreal engine, there are many tutorials available that can assist you in learning quickly, while CryEngine 5 has few resources out there, so it’s a bit of a stretch to learn how to use it. Overall, Unreal Engine vs CryEngine seems pretty good for their capabilities.
Recommended Articles
This has guided the top difference between Unreal Engine vs CryEngine. Here we also discuss the key differences between infographics and comparison tables. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –
