A Surprise Guest at Unite
The gaming industry witnessed a historic moment at the recent Unite conference when Unity welcomed an unexpected guest to the stage. Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, joined the presentation to announce a groundbreaking partnership between the two rival engine creators. This collaboration marks a significant shift towards a more open and interoperable digital ecosystem, moving away from the fragmentation that has often complicated game development.
Sweeney emphasized that while Epic Games makes the Unreal Engine, they also operate the Epic Games Store and Epic Online Services, both of which host and support numerous Unity-based titles. The two companies have found common ground in their desire to support fair, open platforms where developers have the freedom to choose their tools and publishing pathways without unnecessary barriers.
Unity Commerce Coming to Unreal Engine
One of the major announcements was the expansion of Unity’s commerce solutions. Unity will bring its new in-app purchase SDK to all Unreal Engine developers. This means that creators using Unreal can now utilize Unity’s API to handle cross-platform purchases, pricing logic, and entitlements.
The goal is to allow developers to integrate the API once and have it function seamlessly across all platforms and payment services. This move supports the broader industry trend of mobile platforms opening up to competing stores and payment methods, giving developers more control over their economy regardless of the engine they choose.
Publishing Unity Games in Fortnite
Perhaps the most surprising revelation was the integration of Unity games into the Fortnite ecosystem. Starting next year, developers will be able to publish games built with Unity directly into Fortnite. These titles will appear in the discovery system alongside experiences created with Unreal Engine, allowing Unity developers to tap into Fortnite’s massive audience of over 100 million monthly active users.
To make this possible, Unity has developed specialized network technology that connects their engine to the Fortnite ecosystem through a new protocol. This development allows creators to participate in the Fortnite economy and contributes to the vision of an open metaverse where users and engines are connected rather than walled off. This partnership signals a new era where the walls between major game engines are becoming permeable, fostering a better future for all developers.
For the full announcement and to see the presentation, you can watch the video below:
Watch the Unity x Epic Games Announcement