Here’s why virtual production pros are avoiding using Unity on client projects

For games developers, Unity, another engine capable of rendering physical environments, is sometimes considered an attractive alternative (though a recent debacle over pricing may undo its popularity among users). Still, Unity lags behind Unreal in brand work. Why?

Each platform can act as a centrifuge around which agencies can build their virtual production pipeline. But for those considering investing in such capabilities, there may be only one real choice. When The Drum straw-polled sources within the virtual production space, we found none were choosing Unity over Unreal. One source described the former as “lightweight and entry-level”.

Every production company The Drum spoke to said it was prioritizing the use of Unreal over Unity (or any other engine), in some cases disregarding the alternatives altogether. But the number of virtual production practitioners is still small, and it’s worth examining why one platform has already won out over another.

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There are some notable similarities, says James Pierechod, a creative technologist who’s head of creative and strategy at production agency Powerhouse. Both are real-time 3D physics engines running on similar, though slightly different, coding languages.

But some elements that make Unreal particularly useful for virtual production aren’t present for Unity. One such factor is Unreal’s constellation of plug-in and add-on software such as Disguise, Affinity and Pixoto which, taken together, turn the program from a physics engine into a viable host for virtual production workflow.

And Unreal’s latest edition, which was released recently, bundled together several features particularly useful for producing and rendering animated scenes. Plus, universal scene description (USD) support within Unreal means the tech is fully compatible with files and assets designed in the graphics platform Blender.

“All of these other plugins that are almost required or demanded by our industry are just not there,” says Pierechod. In contrast, those tools “all play very well with Unreal to create this pipeline, this workflow of virtual production.”

It’s the availability of plug-in software and the potential of Unreal as a central production pillar that has made it useful. “All of the texturing, all of the animation, all of the other components that go into whatever it is you’re building can be built 10 different ways in any 3D software,” says Pierechod. “It’s so much easier, and it’s so much more plug-in led, that the barrier to entry becomes much, much lower.”

In turn, that’s made it possible for creatives using the methodology to better multitask during production, helping to bring down costs. “The minimum number of people you would need in order to facilitate something like that is far, far lower.”

Though Unity might be capable of generating similar quality environments for animation, for example, the number of compatible tools is lower and set-up time would be slower.

Furthermore, the community of developers and specialists that has grown up around Unreal – in part encouraged by its publisher, Epic Games – is much larger. That means agencies can fish in a deeper talent pool when looking for virtual production talent. More people have been trained using the platform, and it’s easier to train up those that haven’t.

“All the training has been given on Unreal, all education courses are on Unreal and Unreal’s infrastructure around education and development is easier,” says Pierechod.

Unity may, Pierechod admits, catch up. Other developers may decide it’s a viable destination for plugin tools, expanding its capabilities, and the number of specialists able to use it could also increase over time.

But Unreal already has a headstart. Time spent waiting for an alternative to improve could be time wasted. “Maybe the boat’s been missed,” concludes Pierechod.