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O3DE vs Photon Engine

O3DE logo

O3DE

Game Development

Open 3D Engine - Professional game engine

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Photon Engine logo

Photon Engine

Game Development

Hosted multiplayer networking billed by concurrent users, not by seat or by player

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: O3DE minimum hardware is a quad-core 2.5 GHz x86 CPU with SSE 4.1, 16 GB RAM and a DirectX 12 or Vulkan GPU with 2 GB VRAM and Shader Model 6.2; Photon Engine billing follows peak concurrent users, so a single stream or a launch weekend raises the bill immediately, and studios that cannot forecast concurrency cannot forecast the cost of their own launch.
  • They diverge on capability: O3DE covers 3D graphics rendering, Photon Engine covers Concurrent user billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which O3DE and Photon Engine actually diverge.

Attributes where O3DE and Photon Engine differ
AttributeO3DEPhoton Engine
Pricing modelfreePer month by peak concurrent users
PlatformsWindows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Playstation, XboxWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Console
Founded2021Unknown

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 O3DE

  • 3D graphics rendering
  • Modular architecture
  • Physics engine
  • Audio system
  • Animation tools
  • Particle effects
  • Material system
  • Lighting system

Only in Photon Engine

  • Concurrent user billing
  • Photon Fusion
  • Photon Quantum
  • Photon Voice and Chat
  • Global relay
  • Matchmaking and rooms

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

O3DE

  • Building 3D games and simulations on an open source Apache-licensed enginenot Photon Engine
  • Robotics and industrial simulation using O3DE Gemsnot Photon Engine
  • Projects that need full engine source access with no royaltynot Photon Engine

Photon Engine

  • Adding multiplayer to a Unity game without hiring a network engineernot O3DE
  • Competitive titles needing deterministic rollback rather than state synchronisationnot O3DE
  • Games with a large but thinly spread player base, where concurrency stays low and per player pricing would cost morenot O3DE
  • Training and simulation projects that need shared real-time state outside gamesnot O3DE

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

O3DE

  • Minimum hardware is a quad-core 2.5 GHz x86 CPU with SSE 4.1, 16 GB RAM and a DirectX 12 or Vulkan GPU with 2 GB VRAM and Shader Model 6.2
  • Raytracing features require Shader Model 6.3
  • Disk space required is 40 GB using the prebuilt installer and 100 GB or more when building from source
  • Building the engine from source needs 2 GB of RAM per build thread on top of normal system requirements
  • On Windows the editor requires Windows 10 version 20H2 or later plus Visual Studio 2019 16.11.x, 2022 17.3.x or 2026 18.0.x with the Game development with C++ workload
  • The only primary Linux distribution for the editor is Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and Ubuntu on 64-bit ARMv8 is experimental
  • Linux builds need CMake 3.30.0 or later, which is newer than the 3.22 shipped by default with Ubuntu 22.04
  • Wayland support is experimental, requires building from source, and is limited to the Game Launcher with no editor support until O3DE moves to Qt6
  • Linux requires a long list of additional apt library packages to be installed before building

Photon Engine

  • Billing follows peak concurrent users, so a single stream or a launch weekend raises the bill immediately, and studios that cannot forecast concurrency cannot forecast the cost of their own launch.
  • Exceeding the band does not degrade gracefully; additional players are refused connections until concurrency falls or the plan is upgraded, which is a visible outage to your players at the worst possible moment.
  • PUN, the product most tutorials and courses still teach, is legacy, so a large share of the learning material available online points new projects at the wrong SDK.
  • Self-hosting is an enterprise arrangement rather than a purchasable licence, so a studio that wants its servers on its own infrastructure for cost or compliance reasons cannot simply buy that.
  • It is a networking layer only; accounts, persistence, leaderboards, inventories and anti-cheat all come from other services, so the multiplayer stack ends up as several vendors rather than one.

Pricing, plan by plan

O3DE

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full engine
    • Modular architecture
    • Cross-platform

Photon Engine

Free
  • FreeFree
    • A small concurrent user allowance for development and early testing
    • All regions available
    • No time limit on the free tier
  • Entry band$9/month
    • Around one hundred concurrent users
    • Full SDK access
    • Regional server selection
  • Higher bands$undefined/month
    • Sold in steps up to tens of thousands of concurrent users
    • Price rises with each band rather than with total players
    • Enterprise and self-hosted arrangements handled directly by Exit Games

Which should you pick?

Choose O3DE if

  • You need 3d graphics rendering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Playstation, Xbox.
  • You also want modular architecture.
O3DE review

Choose Photon Engine if

  • You need concurrent user billing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Console.
  • You also want photon fusion.
Photon Engine review

Questions people ask

Is O3DE or Photon Engine better?
Neither clearly leads. O3DE starts at Free and Photon Engine at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, O3DE or Photon Engine?
O3DE starts at Free and Photon Engine at Free.
Does O3DE or Photon Engine run on more platforms?
O3DE runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Playstation, Xbox. Photon Engine runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Console.
Can I use O3DE for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is O3DE best used for?
O3DE is most often used for building 3d games and simulations on an open source apache-licensed engine, robotics and industrial simulation using o3de gems, projects that need full engine source access with no royalty. Of those, building 3d games and simulations on an open source apache-licensed engine and robotics and industrial simulation using o3de gems are not what Photon Engine is typically brought in for.
What can O3DE do that Photon Engine cannot?
O3DE covers 3D graphics rendering, Modular architecture, Physics engine, Audio system. Photon Engine covers Concurrent user billing, Photon Fusion, Photon Quantum, Photon Voice and Chat.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

O3DE: Is O3DE free to download and use?

Yes, O3DE is completely free and open source, available for download at no cost under continuous development.

Source
Photon Engine: What exactly is a concurrent user?

A player connected to Photon at that moment. Your plan is sized by the peak of that number, not by downloads, registered accounts or monthly actives.

O3DE: How is O3DE funded if it is free?

O3DE is supported through optional donations and member organization contributions rather than user licensing fees.

Source
Photon Engine: Which product should a new project use?

Fusion for most real-time games, Quantum where determinism matters such as fighting and competitive titles. PUN is legacy and should not start a new project despite the volume of tutorials.

Photon Engine: Does it work outside Unity?

Unity is the first-class target. Unreal and other engines are supported through Realtime SDKs with less coverage and slower feature parity.

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