Epic Games is giving away $5 million to Unreal Engine 4 projects

It's a fact easily forgotten as you browse your swelling Steam backlog, but games are really bloody expensive to make. While crowdfunding continues to be a viable option, nothing compares to a good old fashion cash injection. To these ends, Epic Games has set aside $5 million dollars to help studios complete their projects – so long as the project uses Unreal Engine 4.

"While development can be fueled by creativity and determination alone, finishing and releasing a commercial project often requires money," Tim Sweeney wrote on the Unreal Engine site.

"We know this firsthand, as Epic’s early projects were built on shoestring budgets funded by such sources as Tim Sweeney’s lawn-mowing earnings, and Mark Rein’s credit card (before they took it away from him!). A small budget can make all the difference in shipping a project with the content, marketing materials, and promotional expenses necessary for it to gain traction."

Full details on how to apply are over on the Unreal Dev Grants website.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.