Epic to take 25% royalty fee for UDK

Epic has revealed its commercial terms for licensing the Unreal Development Kit - a free version of its Unreal Engine 3 that was released at the end of last year.

According to its site, Epic will take a 25 per cent royalty on all revenue made from a game created using its software, after the first $5000. There is also also a $99 up-front fee for those using the software commercially.

For those creating software for internal use only - for example employee training - Epic will charge $2500 per developer seat.

The UDK remains free to install and use for hobbyists and educational institutions under its 'free for educational and non-commercial use' policy, although if a student went on to sell a game they had created as a school or hobby project, they would have to to purchase the $99 licence then pay royalties, said Epic.

Developers also won't pay if they're creating a free-to-play game, however games with a commercial aspect - such as ones that advertise a product - will need the licence.

The UDK is currently available for PC only, although Epic has said it is considering console support in the future.