Unreal Engine Learning (Epic Developer Community)

What it is

The Epic Developer Community learning portal collects Unreal Engine courses, tutorials, talks and demos from Epic and community creators. For games, the two best starting points are official:

• Your First Hour in Unreal Engine: create a project from a template, build a level, add assets and lighting, script with Blueprints and package the project.
• Your First Game in Unreal Engine: a follow-up that builds a small game and introduces Blueprints for gameplay systems, UI, timers and more.

From there, courses cover Blueprints in more depth, C++ in Unreal, animation, materials, UI with UMG, audio, and performance.

Is it worth it?

Yes. It is free, official and matches the current engine better than most older video tutorials. Unreal changes quickly between versions, and Epic's material shows the current editor and recommended systems, such as Enhanced Input.

Blueprints first, then C++

Start with Blueprints: they let you learn the engine's gameplay framework (Actors, Components, Pawns, Characters, PlayerControllers and GameModes) without compile times. Move to C++ once you understand that framework. The C++ in Unreal is its own dialect, with UCLASS, UPROPERTY and UFUNCTION macros, so learn plain modern C++ basics first (LearnCpp.com is a good free choice).

Hardware

Unreal needs a reasonably strong PC for 3D projects. Check the hardware and software specifications in the Unreal documentation before you commit, especially on a laptop.

Unreal licence (as of 2026-09)

Unreal Engine is free to download and use. For games, Epic's standard licence charges a 5% royalty on lifetime gross revenue above the first US$1 million per product, and revenue from sales on the Epic Games Store is not subject to the royalty. Since 1 January 2025, the "Launch Everywhere with Epic" programme reduces the rate to 3.5% for eligible games that launch on the Epic Games Store at the same time as or before other PC stores. Read the current EULA and licence page on unrealengine.com before a commercial release.

Common questions

Can I make 2D games in Unreal? You can, but Unreal's strengths are 3D. For a 2D first game, Unity or Godot are simpler.

Do I need C++ to ship a game? No. Many games ship mostly in Blueprints, but studio gameplay programmer roles usually expect C++.