Legal usage under Epic terms
Unreal Engine is distributed under Epic Games license terms. Eligible users may download and use the engine for personal, educational, and commercial projects as those terms allow. Commercial releases can trigger royalty obligations after published revenue thresholds. Custom enterprise agreements may replace the standard schedule.
Before you ship a title, read the current Epic End User License Agreement and any companion royalty FAQ Epic publishes. Thresholds and carve-outs change. This site summarizes orientation facts only; the signed Epic text controls.
Clarify
“Free to download” does not mean “no commercial obligations forever.” Budget for royalty review when revenue approaches published limits. See also the FAQ legal section.
Ethical and responsible use
Use Unreal Engine in ways that respect applicable law, platform policies, and the rights of other people. Do not use the engine to build or distribute malware, unauthorized surveillance tooling, or content that violates criminal law in your jurisdiction.
Marketplace assets, sample projects, and third-party plugins carry their own licenses. Attribution, redistribution, and monetization rules may differ from the engine EULA. Keep records of asset provenance inside your production pipeline.
Source-code access accuracy
Eligible users can obtain Unreal Engine source under Epic’s license. That arrangement is source-available under Epic license. It is not OSI open-source.
OSI open-source licenses grant a defined set of freedoms (use, study, modify, redistribute) under OSI-approved terms. Epic’s source program grants access to read and modify the engine for licensed use, subject to Epic’s restrictions on redistribution, branding, and commercial terms. Calling Unreal Engine “open source” is inaccurate and we do not use that claim on this site.
Do not misstate
Do not redistribute engine source outside Epic’s allowed channels. Do not rebrand the engine as OSI open-source in marketing materials. Mislabeling can confuse contributors and violate the license.
Download integrity and malware clarification
This site is an independent orientation property on unrealengine.cc. It is not an Epic Games storefront mirror and does not host engine installers as binary payloads. Prefer installing through the Epic Games Launcher with an authenticated account.
Antivirus products may flag Unreal build tools or cook workers as suspicious. That is often a false positive on large developer toolchains, not proof that Epic’s official binaries are malware. Restore quarantined files carefully, add scoped exclusions, and run launcher Verify. Operator steps: antivirus guide.
User responsibility disclaimer
You are responsible for how you configure machines, store credentials, back up projects, comply with Epic terms, and deploy finished products to platforms. unrealengine.cc provides informational pages about version, features, requirements, and common operator issues. We do not warrant fitness for a particular commercial outcome.
Trademarks, including Unreal Engine and related marks, belong to their respective owners. Mentions here are for identification and education. Nothing on this page creates a partnership, endorsement, or agency relationship with Epic Games.