Game Development · head to head
CryEngine vs Unity
CryEngine
Game Development
Build worlds, break limits. Professional game development engine.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Unity
Game Development
Create beautiful interactive content with the world's leading real-time engine
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: CryEngine a royalty of 5% of Gross Receipts is payable to Crytek on every game built with CRYENGINE; Unity unity Personal is free only for businesses with under $200,000 in funding or annual revenue; above that a Pro subscription is required
- They diverge on capability: CryEngine covers Advanced graphics, Unity covers Visual editor.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CryEngine and Unity actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Game Development).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in CryEngine
- Advanced graphics
- Physics engine
- AI system
- Animation tools
- Flow Graph visual scripting
- C++ and Lua support
- Entity component system
- Sandbox editor
Only in Unity
- Visual editor
- Physics engine (PhysX)
- Animation system
- Particle system
- Built-in audio engine
- Scripting with C#
- Asset Store
- Version control integration
Both cover
- Perforce
- Wwise
- Local deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CryEngine
- Building photorealistic first person and open world games with real time global illuminationnot Unity
- Developing with full engine source code accessnot Unity
- Sandbox based level design with what you see is what you get exportnot Unity
Unity
- Building 2D and 3D games for desktop, mobile, web, AR and VRnot CryEngine
- Shipping console titles under a Pro or Enterprise licencenot CryEngine
- Real time 3D for manufacturing, automotive and retail visualisationnot CryEngine
- Live operations and in-app purchase management for mobile gamesnot CryEngine
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CryEngine
- A royalty of 5% of Gross Receipts is payable to Crytek on every game built with CRYENGINE
- Royalties are waived only on the first USD 5,000.00 of Gross Receipts per year per game
- Royalties are calculated at source on gross receipts before any publisher or platform deductions, so a developer receiving 70% of USD 100,000 still owes USD 4,750
- Military projects, gambling, simulation, science, architecture and serious games are excluded from the standard licence and are not covered as Games
- The licence forbids combining CRYENGINE with code from other game engine providers
- Supported platforms are limited to those Crytek announces at its sole discretion, listed in the agreement as Windows, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- Support is only provided against payment of a separate Support Fee that Crytek may change at its sole discretion
- Crytek may modify the licence agreement at any time, with the only remedy for disagreement being to stop using CRYENGINE
Unity
- Unity Personal is free only for businesses with under $200,000 in funding or annual revenue; above that a Pro subscription is required
- Unity Pro costs $210.00 per month or $2,310.00 per year per seat
- Businesses with more than $25M in annual revenue are required to be on Unity Enterprise, which is custom priced and requires contacting sales
- Deploying to game consoles and to Apple Vision Pro requires Unity Pro or above
- Splash screen customization is not available on Unity Personal
- Unity Personal is licensed for gaming and entertainment applications only
- Read-only engine source code access is an Enterprise feature and carries an additional cost
- Asset Manager storage on Personal is capped at 10 GB per organization
- Unity AI tools are free for a 14 day trial on Personal, after which a paid subscription is required
- Enterprise terms note that minimum subscription or spending commitments may apply
Pricing, plan by plan
CryEngine
Free- FreeFree
- Full engine access
- Source code
- Asset library
Unity
Free- PersonalFree
- Full engine access
- Asset Store access
- Community support
- Professional$399/month
- All Personal features
- Priority support
- Advanced analytics
Which should you pick?
Choose CryEngine if
- You need advanced graphics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Playstation, Xbox, Linux.
- You also want physics engine.
Choose Unity if
- You need visual editor.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Webgl.
- You also want physics engine (physx).
Questions people ask
- Is CryEngine or Unity better?
- Neither clearly leads. CryEngine starts at Free and Unity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CryEngine or Unity?
- CryEngine starts at Free and Unity at Free.
- Does CryEngine or Unity run on more platforms?
- CryEngine runs on Windows, Playstation, Xbox, Linux. Unity runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Webgl.
- Can I use CryEngine for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is CryEngine best used for?
- CryEngine is most often used for building photorealistic first person and open world games with real time global illumination, developing with full engine source code access, sandbox based level design with what you see is what you get export. Of those, building photorealistic first person and open world games with real time global illumination and developing with full engine source code access are not what Unity is typically brought in for.
- What can CryEngine do that Unity cannot?
- CryEngine covers Advanced graphics, Physics engine, AI system, Animation tools. Unity covers Visual editor, Physics engine (PhysX), Animation system, Particle system. Both handle Perforce, Wwise, Local deployment.