Game Engine Licensing and Distribution

Proprietary licenses are the most common type of game engine license. They give the licensor complete control over the engine and its use.

Proprietary licenses give the licensor complete control over the engine and its use, while open source licenses allow anyone to use, modify, and distribute the engine.

Proprietary licenses give the licensor more control over the engine, more flexibility in how the engine is used, and more support from the licensor.

Proprietary licenses can be less flexible in how the engine is used, provide less support from the licensor, and be more expensive than open source licenses.

Open source licenses give the user more flexibility in how the engine is used, more support from the community, and are typically lower cost than proprietary licenses.

Open source licenses can give the user less control over the engine, less support from the licensor, and can pose more security risks than proprietary licenses.

Unreal Engine is the most popular proprietary game engine, with a market share of over 50%.

Godot is the most popular open source game engine, with a market share of over 20%.

Games can be distributed physically, digitally, or both.

Physical distribution allows games to be sold in retail stores, resold, and collected.

Physical distribution can be more expensive, more difficult to find, and more easily pirated than digital distribution.

Digital distribution can be cheaper, more easily found, and more difficult to pirate than physical distribution.

Digital distribution does not allow games to be sold in retail stores, resold, or collected.

Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com are all popular digital distribution platforms.

Digital distribution platforms make it easy to purchase and download games, update games automatically, and play games on multiple devices.

Digital distribution platforms do not have any significant disadvantages.