What is Unreal Engine?

Unreal Engine is a widely recognized and powerful game engine developed by Epic Games. It’s the second most popular after Unity.

The engine’s history dates back to 1998, with Unreal Engine 1 emerging as part of the first-person shooter game “Unreal”. Since then, it has evolved significantly over the years, becoming a leading choice for game developers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals. The current latest iteration at time of writing is Unreal Engine 5.

Unreal Engine 5 is renowned for its state-of-the-art features like Nanite virtualized geometry and Lumen global illumination. These innovations offer developers the tools to create ultra-realistic graphics and dynamic lighting effects, significantly enhancing the visual quality of games and simulations.

The engine’s influence extends far beyond gaming. It’s a favored tool in diverse sectors like film production, architectural visualization, and automotive design. For instance, the Mandalorian TV series utilized Unreal Engine for real-time rendering of backgrounds. In the automotive industry, companies like BMW use Unreal Engine for interactive car visualizations.

With Unreal Engine 5, developers have a robust platform that supports their creative ventures, whether in developing cutting-edge games or in pioneering new applications in various industries. Additionally, Epic Games offers a unique licensing model where the engine is free to use, but a royalty is charged on commercial products after a certain revenue threshold is reached. Thanks to this developer-friendly business model, more and more independent developers and small studios are flocking to Unreal Engine.

Is Unreal Engine free to use?

Yes, Unreal Engine is free to download and use. Epic Games charges a royalty fee only when your game or product succeeds commercially, specifically after it generates over a certain threshold in gross revenue.

How does Unreal Engine compare to other game engines like Godot and Unity?

The most obvious advantage of Unreal Engine is its high-performance and graphical capabilities, out matching both Unity and Godot by a long shot if you want to create highly photorealistic games. Unreal Engine also has a more flexible visual scripting system than Unity’s, though its learning curve might be the steepest due to knowledge of C++ being the minimal requirement to become a decent game developer. And though it has a royalty-based model unlike Godot, Unreal Engine has a much more lenient threshold compared to Unity’s.

What programming language does Unreal Engine support?

The only text-based programming language Unreal Engine supports is C++. Unity does have its own visual scripting system called Blueprints, but it’s meant to make C++ scripting less taxing, not completely replace it. If you’re looking to learn C++, check out my BCG C++, or if you’re new to programming my BCG Programming.

BCG Stats

• All of the courses are compatible with Unreal Engine 5, except for one.
• Seven of the courses are free or free-to-audit, whereas three are paid.
• Three of these courses require prior programming experience with C++ or another language.

Best Free Official Tutorial for Absolute Beginners (Epic Games)

Unreal Engine’s learning library is one of the best places to look for free tutorials by the developers or the community. And the best of the best I’ve found for complete beginners is Mathew Wadstein’s Your First Hour in Unreal Engine 5.2.

As the course name suggests, this free hour-long course introduces you to the absolute basics of using Unreal Engine for game development. You’ll have a basic understanding of how to create a barebones 3D game using the Unreal Editor. No programming with C++ is involved with this course, though you’ll learn some visual scripting. So don’t be afraid to give game development a try, as no prerequisites are required whatsoever.

This course will always be up-to-date as it is maintained by Epic Games themselves.

The video demonstrations by Matt cover:

• Creating your first projects using project templates
• Navigating Unreal Engine’s layout, such as the Viewport to visualize the game scene, and the Content Browser to add custom or premade assets
• Building your first level by adding Actors and simple meshes, along with modifying their properties with the Details panel
• Controlling environmental lighting and effects in a scene with Lighting Actors
• Bringing your level to life with Blueprint Actors using the Blueprint Editor
• Packaging your projects for playtesting and sharing.

Mathew Wadstein is well-loved among the Unreal community for his amazing YouTube videos breaking down aspects of the game engine and explaining them piece by piece. Safe to say, you’re in good hands.

Institution	Epic Games
Instructor	Mathew Wadstein
Prerequisites	None
Workload	<1 hour
Views	88K
Likes	170
Cost	Free
Exercises	Demos
Certificate	None

Best Free Beginners to Advanced C++ & Blueprints Course (freeCodecamp)

Learn the ins-and-outs of the Unreal Engine in this free course led by Sourav, a game developer with seven years of experience.

Designed for beginners new to the engine, Unreal Engine 5 – Full Course for Beginners aims to help you master the Unreal Engine by taking you through all of the key features of the engine piece-by-piece and showing you how to use them to create your own projects. You’ll learn gradually, building up your knowledge of the engine which culminates in making a simple Subway Surfers-style 3D game at the end of the course.

The best part of this course is that you’ll learn both visual scripting and C++ programming without the need for any programming experience. You’ll pick up best practices, such as when to use blueprints or code when the situation calls for it.

Some of the topics you’ll learn are:

1. Project Creation: ​Navigating and using the Unreal Editor​ to create new projects
2. Level Creation: Creating and editing game levels, including landscapes, object placement, and basic lighting​
3. Blueprints: Your first taste of programming with Unreal Engine’s visual scripting system for interactivity. Topics include variables and functions, as well as programming logic such as branching, loops, and arrays
4. Interaction System: Creating interactive game elements​ with action mappings, interaction systems, UI design, and linetrace (raycast)
5. Modeling Tools: Creating and importing 3D assets​, static mesh, Nanite technology, materials, skeletal mesh, and animation Blueprint
6. C++: Introduces C++ basics along with advanced topics like classes, inheritance, and converting Blueprints scripts to C++​
7. Actor, Character, Player Controller: Covers advanced topics about game characters and controllers​
8. Game Mode and State: Explains controlling game behavior through different modes and states​
9. Plugins and Libraries: Extending engine functionality with third-party libraries (static and DLL)
10. Networking: Creating multiplayer games and online game development​, including session creation/joining and network replication.

​If you have any questions, feel free to ask away in the Gamium Dev Discord.

Channel	freeCodeCamp
Provider	YouTube
Instructor	Sourav (from Gamium Dev)
Prerequisites	None
Workload	11–12 hours
Views	975K
Likes	30K
Cost	Free
Exercises	Demos
Certificate	None

Best Free Short Course with Blueprints for Absolute Beginners (Unreal Sensei)

Want to get started with Unreal Engine beyond the mere basics?

In this free tutorial by Unreal Sensei, you’ll know nothing about Unreal Engine 5 to create an awesome-looking fantasy castle landscape. Every step in the process, from sculpting the landscape to creating the castle, will be shown in detail. No C++ is taught in this course, so no programming experience is needed.

Every step in the process, from sculpting the landscape to creating the castle, will be shown in detail. The chapters will cover:

• Navigating the Unreal Editor user interface, including the 3D viewport
• Creating materials and designing worlds, including PBR (Physically Based Rendering), texture application, material parameters and instances, and creating a master material
• Importing and creating static meshes, moving assets between projects, and lighting with Lumen
• Landscape creation, using landscape tools and materials, integrating Megascan assets, and employing the foliage tool
• Exploring the amazing new Nanite technology in Unreal Engine 5
• Programming in Unreal using the Blueprint visual scripting system to create a small game
• The final project you’ve been waiting for: building a castle environment, including auto landscape material, adding large details, water, cliffs, trees, modular castle components, and small details.

Channel	Unreal Sensei
Provider	YouTube
Instructor	Zach Hunter
Prerequisites	None
Workload	5 hours
Views	3.2M
Likes	93K
Cost	Free
Exercises	None
Certificate	None

Best Paid Comprehensive Beginners C++ & Blueprints Course for Programmers (Stephen Ulibarri)

Stephen Ulibarri is one of the two instructors highly recommended by the people at the Unreal Source Discord and r/UnrealEngine. Why?

1. Though his courses are paid, you can get his course massively discounted by applying the coupon codes found in his Druid Mechanic Discord
2. The content of his courses are often comprehensive and thorough, with many lectures, demonstrations, and examples
3. He explains things very clearly, while also imparting best practices and design patterns for beginners to follow. There are countless horror stories of beginners turning to Discord or Reddit for help on why their code is slow or doesn’t work, only to find out it’s because their instructors taught them wrong.

So if you’re worried about whether you’re getting your money’s worth from his courses, there you have it.

But enough about that, let’s dive into what you’ll achieve in his Unreal Engine 5 C++ The Ultimate Game Developer Course.

In this course for beginners, you’ll level up your skills in C++ programming and Unreal Engine 5 by developing an Action-RPG Style Open World Game. This project will have various elements typical in such games, such as souls-like combat and enemies, gold and experience points, health and death, and dungeons and landscapes. Additionally, you’ll explore some of the new features added to UE5, including Motion Warping, Meta Sounds, Linked Anim Graphs, creating visual effects in Niagara, and more.

Sounds fun? You don’t need any experience with game development or Unreal Engine to start whatsoever. All you need is a basic understanding of C++ or any other similar programming languages.

If you need any help, you can ask in his Discord (he’s really active) or the Q&A section of the Udemy course.

Provider	Udemy
Instructor	Stephen Ulibarri
Prerequisites	C++ or other programming languages
Workload	53 hours
Enrollments	29K
Rating	4.8 / 5.0 (3.8K)
Cost	Paid
Exercises	Demos, Challenges, Quizzes
Certificate	Paid

Best Paid Multiplayer Course for C++ Programmers (Stephen Ulibarri)

If you haven’t seen my reasons on why Stephen Ulibarri should be your next instructor, scroll up to the previous course.

… Already read it? Now that we’re on the same track, let’s talk about Stephen’s next course, the best one dedicated to multiplayer I’ve seen so far.

Unreal Engine 5 C++ Multiplayer Shooter is a paid course designed to teach multiplayer principles. By the end of this course, you’ll have an understanding of how multiplayer features work, how Unreal Engine handles it, and considerations to make when designing and developing a multiplayer game.

How will you learn? By creating a fun free-for-all shooter 3D game! Some of the things you’ll implement are:

• Custom match states
• Warmup/cooldown match timers
• Elimination announcements
• HUD with health, shields, weapons, ammo, and grenades
• Lag compensation techniques (client-side prediction and server-side rewind)
• Multiplayer optimization
• Anti-cheat.

So if you already have experience making single player games in Unreal Engine and want to move on to the next level of game development, this is the course for you.

Done with this course and want more? Try his latest Gameplay Ability System – Top Down RPG course. Stephen has somehow outdone himself this time, and created probably the most comprehensive course on Udemy with over 3½ days of content. You’ll build a fully-fledged game with nothing half-baked, implementing the best design patterns and practices. The reviews speak for themselves, with an almost perfect score of 4.9 stars.

Provider	Udemy
Instructor	Stephen Ulibarri
Prerequisites	Basic experience with C++ and Unreal Engine
Workload	65 hours
Enrollments	22K
Rating	4.7 / 5.0 (2.4K)
Cost	Paid
Exercises	Demos, Challenges, Quizzes
Certificate	Paid

Best Free C++ & Blueprints Course for Unity Developers (Carl Boisvert Dev)

Coming from a Unity background?

This series tries to bridge your experience as a Unity developer coming into the Unreal Engine by giving you a tour of the entire development process.

The course covers three main important topics: The Unreal Engine, Blueprints, and C++.

You’ll start with a look at the interface of UE5, set up your development environment, and write your first line of code for the Unreal Engine. Then, you’ll compare and contrast UE’s Actors and Components to Unity’s GameObject and Components. You’ll also see how UE’s Blueprints are vastly more powerful than Unity’s Prefabs, and use them in your games. Finally, you’ll go over template C++ code and understand how C++ and Blueprint work together to simplify the coding process.

This course may still be in progress, with more videos being added over time.

Channel	Carl Boisvert Dev
Provider	YouTube
Instructor	Carl Boisvert
Prerequisites	Unity experience
Workload	1–2 hours
Views	1.8K
Likes	95
Cost	Free
Exercises	None
Certificate	None

Best Free Architecture Course for Beginners (Gediminas Kirdeikis)

Unreal Engine done right can make the most stunning scenes, which is why Gediminas Kirdeikis’s course stands out as a top choice for beginners interested in architecture visualization.

This course will help you create architectural visualizations and renders from start to finish in Unreal Engine 5, no prior experience needed. The course uses a Rhino model, but you can still follow along if you’re using other 3D models.

You’ll be guided through the process of building a simple architectural scene, encompassing everything from model importation to lighting and camera setup. The course places a strong emphasis on realism, a critical aspect of architectural rendering. Kirdeikis teaches techniques to infuse lifelike details into scenes, such as authentic lighting, shadows, and textures, essential for making renderings more impactful. Additionally, the course covers post-processing effects, offering insights into how to enhance the visual appeal of renders further.

There’s also a Virtual Reality version of this course for architectural presentations.

Channel	Gediminas Kirdeikis
Provider	YouTube
Instructor	Gediminas Kirdeikis
Prerequisites	None
Workload	5–6 hours
Views	103K
Likes	3.3K
Cost	Free
Exercises	None
Certificate	None

Best Free Blueprints Course (Smart Poly)

If you want an in-depth look at Blueprints, Smart Poly has got you covered in this free YouTube series.

The first three videos in this playlist should be enough to get a basic grasp if you’ve never touched Unreal Engine before. But if you’re only here for blueprints, the second video is for beginners while the third is for intermediates.

In Unreal Engine 5 Beginner Tutorial, you’ll learn the basics of Unreal Engine 5, from installation to the user interface to adding and changing object properties to much more. You’ll be able to design small levels by the end of this video.

Blueprint For Beginners (2023) gives beginners an introductory overview of Blueprints, Unreal Engine’s visual scripting system. You’ll learn what they are, why you should learn them, and how to use them. You’ll add small interactive actions to the world, such as picking up a hat, scoring a goal, and creating a hit actor.

Finally, Blueprint For Intermediate Users (2023) will give learners an in-depth look to the more advanced concepts of Blueprints, such as enumerations, structures, arrays, and functions. You’ll combine everything you’ve learned so far to create a simple inventory system for your character to pick up, select, swap, use, consume, and equip items.

Smart Poly has also made a paid course where he builds a multiplayer first-person survival game, which you can find a review of here.

Channel	Smart Poly
Provider	YouTube
Prerequisites	None
Workload	5–6 hours
Cost	Free
Exercises	None
Certificate	None

Best Paid Comprehensive Intermediate Course for Professionals with Certificate (Tom Looman)

If you’re wondering who else can compare to Stephen Ulibarri, it’s Tom Looman. Though his paid courses can be quite expensive, its price can be easily justified by the fact that once you’ve bought it, it’ll be the only resource you need — no more time wasted googling. And this course will remain relevant for a long time too, since it’ll always be updated for the newest version of Unreal Engine (currently 5.3).

Just one look at the Action Roguelike Game course project should tell you how comprehensive and useful Tom’s course is, with lots of essential design patterns and practices taught. And the fact that his course is used at AAA Studios to onboard game devs to Unreal Engine speaks volumes about the quality. Still not convinced? You can read reviews of the course on Reddit and the Unreal Source Discord.

So, what will you learn in Professional Game Development in C++ and Unreal Engine?

• Building C++ Game Framework
• Combining C++ and Blueprint for flexible game logic
• Unreal’s Gameplay Systems
• Event-based Programming Principles
• AI Programming (Behavior Trees, Blackboard, EQS, Custom C++ Nodes)
• Multiplayer Networking (Replication architecture, low-bandwidth, best practices)
• Saving Game State to Disk (Saving/loading player progression and world state)
• Performance Profiling Tools (Unreal Insights & in-editor tools)
• User Interfaces with UMG (using Event-based Principles)
• Async Asset Loading & Soft References.

Do note that this course is challenging and assumes some basic programming experience (C++ is ideal, but other OOP languages work fine). Make sure to set aside plenty of time to dedicate yourself to this course, or you won’t be able to make the best use of your money. Tom also offers Q&A support if you need help with the course.

P.S: Tom occasionally discounts the course price, which you can be notified of by following his Twitter.

Instructor	Tom Looman
Prerequisites	C++ or other programming languages
Workload	24–48 hours
Cost	Paid
Exercises	Assignments and Course Projects
Certificate	Paid

Best Unreal Engine 4 Specialization for Absolute Beginners (University of Colorado System)

Want an in-depth overview of both C++ and Unreal Engine, and how to use them both effectively? You’ve come to the right place.

Though the specialization is outdated by one major version, most of the lessons taught in the specialization still apply to Unreal Engine 5, especially the programming concepts. Game developers shouldn’t underestimate the importance of having good programming skills, which is exactly what this course will help you develop. How? Through automatically graded programming exercises and exams.

Do note that graded materials are only available to those paying for the specialization or course. However, auditors may rejoice to find that they can access the practice exercises and discussion prompts.

This specialization is 17 weeks long total, with an expected study time of 4 hours a week. Here’s what you’ll learn in each course.

1. Introduction to C++ Programming and Unreal: Creating your first C++ console application and Unreal script using basic C++ concepts like variables, functions, classes, and objects.
2. More C++ Programming and Unreal: Using conditional statements to make decisions, iterations to repeat actions in your code, and structured data in arrays. Additionally, getting player input from Unreal games.
3. C++ Class Development: A closer in-depth look at classes, functions, and strings, along with how they are an example of abstraction. You’ll also study the oft-misunderstood pointers.
4. Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming for Unreal Games: Avoid repeating yourself with inheritance and polymorphism. Handle events the right way for better object-oriented designs. And finally, explore a complement implementation of a small Unreal game.

There’s a free trial for the specialization, but you can also audit the courses individually. Click here to find out how.

Institution	University of Colorado System
Provider	Coursera
Instructor	Dr. Tim “Dr. T” Chamillard
Prerequisites	Programming experience with any language
Workload	60–80 hours
Enrollments	8.2K
Cost	Free-to-Audit
Exercises	Graded Programming Exercises, Discussion Prompts, Practice Exercises, and Graded Exams
Certificate	Paid

Notable Unreal Engine YouTubers to Follow

• LeafBranchGames: Bite-sized tutorials on implementing common features to your games, from health bars to homing projectiles.
• JimDublace: He’s currently creating a 24-week bootcamp-style course, and from what I’ve seen it seems professional enough for me to think it was paid. Production is in progress, though.
• DanDokipenElliott: Video tutorials on Technical Art, Unreal Engine, and 3D Graphics. Follow if you want to create immersive environments.

Additional Unreal Engine Resources

• Lighting in Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners: By William Faucher If you want to know all things lighting, this is the go-to tutorial.
• Unreal Engine 5 C++ Developer: Learn C++ & Make Video Games: From Gamedev.TV. Has a 4.7 star rating out of 67K reviews. But there may be small problems with the course according to the Unreal Engine Reddit and the Unreal Source Discord.
• Unreal Source Discord: The official Discord for Unreal Engine featured on Epic Games’ community page. A very active and helpful bunch.

Best Courses Guides Methodology

I built this ranking following the now tried-and-tested methodology used in previous Best Courses Guides (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:

1. Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with 200K online courses and 200K+ reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of 380+ courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
2. Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
3. Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content. They have to fit in a set of criteria and be ranked accordingly: comprehensive curriculum, affordability, release date, ratings and enrollments.