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The gaming industry is an expansive space that has seen radical developments over the past few decades. One of the central drives of these major advancements has been the engines behind the very best games that the industry has to offer. While certain systems use their own engines, the vast majority of leading game development companies use the Unreal Engine. 

Worth over $15 billion all the way back in 2018, the Unreal Engine powers some of the world's biggest titles, including the industry's most profitable game for several years in a row, Fortnite. Acting as a development ecosystem, the Unreal Engine has powered much of what we now recognize as modern gaming.

In this article, we'll be exploring what exactly the Unreal Gaming engine is, as well as moving through the main benefits and possible future plans for this system. Let's get right into it. 

The Unreal engine takes its name from a first-person shooter game released all the way back in 1998, Unreal. This game was the first to use this gaming engine, offering 3D rendering graphics. Developed by Epic Games, the Unreal Engine has continually improved and updated over the last 20+ years, with the release of Unreal Engine 5 occurring in April of 2022.

Over time, this engine has done more than only serve gaming, with this 3d modeling system now being used in everything from medical simulations to constructing architecture build models. 

Specifically for gaming, if a developer wants to use the Unreal Engine, they're able to do so completely for free. Epic only charges a fee for projects that pass the $1 million USD mark, wavering their royalties completely if the game is published on the Epic Games Store.

The main marketing point of the Unreal Engine is that it now provides a comprehensive gaming ecosystem, allowing developers to open the system and start to build with a range of custom and pre-created assets. As it uses C++, the Unreal Engine supports a wide range of platforms and has been successfully deployed in a vast quantity of different gaming projects. 

With over twenty years of work, customizable plugins, and a range of award-winning work, it's no wonder that the Unreal Engine is seeing such success even beyond the world of gaming.

With over 3,000 game development companies in the United States alone using the Unreal Engine, it's no wonder that there is a vast range of benefits to using the system. From speeding up development to streamlining asset creation, there are a range of advantages to this system.

The top four benefits of the unreal engine are as follows:

Graphic Quality - The graphic quality of the Unreal Engine is incomparable to the vast majority of other modern gaming engines. Its name is just a hint of how accomplished this system has become, with the quality attempting to seem almost 'unreal' in how close it gets to reality. With top gaming companies like Valve, Rockstar, Nintendo, EA, Sony, and Blizzard all working with this system, it's no wonder the quality has been pushed further than any other engine.

Continual Updates - The Unreal Gaming engine is an ongoing project, demonstrated by the most recent fifth variation released in April of 2022. Due to the active status of this project, there is a continual stream of new updates being made. Not only does this refine older features, but it also ensures that there is a constant wave of updating assets that developers can use within their games. Whether they use custom assets or pull from the bank of pre-made ones, the ease of development significantly speeds up projects.

Blueprints - One of the core reasons that the Unreal Engine is so effective to develop with is that it uses nodes that are known as Blueprints. These nodes are coded scenarios or chunks of code that can be selected and added to a system. This means that developers don't have to create every single line of code for their game, instead being able to use pre-made features to make the process slightly faster. 

Language - C++ is the main language used within the Unreal Engine, which is a preferred language for the majority of software developers. Due to its ease of use, the Unreal Engine facilitates the fast track of projects. 

These benefits are really only scratching the surface. As the Unreal Engine has grown and changed over the years, it has continually become more effective, generating a plethora of useful tools and ensuring that anyone that uses these systems has easy access to a development ecosystem. 

As an industry, gaming has rapidly developed over the past few decades into a world-class field with some of the brightest minds of today. One further feature of the industry's development has been the introduction of blockchain to the space. The cross-over between blockchain and gaming, known as Play2Earn gaming, introduces digital assets and working monetary systems into this world.

As the unreal engine is commonly at the forefront of creation within gaming, it's no surprise that they've also extended their platforms to cope with blockchain game development. By lending their engine to this space, they have facilitated the fast production of new games in this industry. 

One example of this is Bullieverse, a blockchain island that consists of a fantasy land where users can interact and play together. Within this island, players are able to use the Unreal Engine to develop the space, make new friends and construct as they go. With the full power of the Unreal Engine at their disposal, users can turn to creator packs to select pre-made assets, constructing the island they live on with ease.

This new use of the unreal engine, with a blockchain system making it more accessible to users, is a huge leap for this system, with the introduction that Bullieverse is making is an impressive step for the deployment of the engine. 

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