Free Unreal Engine â??not watered downâ??

Epic’s free new development platform ‘is not watered down in any way’, according to the firm’s VP Mark Rein.

The UDK is Epic’s new alternative to the Unreal Engine 3 that, while tied to different royalty rates, is completely free to download and operate.

However, Rein claims that UDK – despite being free – “isn’t watered down” in any way.

“We could expect to see anyone from beginners to professional developers using it,” he said, speaking in an interview with ArsTechnica.

“The tools and technology are the same. However, a ‘full’ license includes the underlying C++ source code to the engine and tools, which allows licensees to make virtually any change they want and potentially ship their game on consoles, provided they’re licensed by the console manufacturer.”

Epic recently announced that over 50,000 users installed UDK in the engine’s first week of availability.