Unity3D - The Best Game Engine for Game App Development in 2024

Games bring in the highest revenue among all the app categories and never fail to surprise gamers with action-packed marvellous game ideas, powerful gameplay and designs. No wonder, from startups to entrepreneurs, game enthusiasts are deeply interested in how to make a mobile game app. 

Well, the game app development process is, moreover, the same as the mobile app development process. But one thing that differentiates the process is that in mobile game app development, one has to choose a game engine through which one can develop a solid game-high in visuals. 

In recent years, the Unity game engine has come into the picture and has made a remarkable mark in the 3D mobile game development industry. Games like Pokémon GO, Rick and Morty, Cuphead, etc., have been developed in Unity. 

Particularly for 3D game projects, Unity3D happens to be the most popular choice. What makes Unity3D game development, so widely acclaimed are not just advanced game features and functionalities but also its powerful graphics engine for creating visually stunning game environments. Unsurprisingly, it has already been used across a multitude of leading 3D game projects.

In fact, Unity holds the lion’s share when it comes to the Game engine market, with more than 38% of game developers using Unity for creating exciting games. According to Wikipedia too, Unity is the most popular choice of game engine among developers. 

Do you want to know why Unity3D is an ideal 3D game engine in 2023? Let us explain the reasons one by one.

What is the Unity3D Game Development Engine?

Unity as the game engine has been there for more than a decade now. Naturally, before we explain the massive potential of Unity3D game development, it is always important to take a closer look at the star-studded history this game engine left behind. The game engine launched way back in the mid-2000s has played an instrumental role in shaping the success story of many top-notch game projects developed for consoles, desktops, or smartphone devices.

The game engine has been used in building many of the world's highest-grossing games for different devices. The examples of the tremendous potential of Unity3D game development can be viewed with all-time successful game projects such as Pokémon Go, Hearthstone, Cuphead, Monument Valley, Assassin's Creed, Beat Saber, etc. All these super games cost from tens to thousands of dollars to develop game app. To know how we estimate game development cost, head on here - How Much Does it Cost to Make a Mobile Game.

Unity was first launched as a game engine for developing 2D games for gaming consoles and desktops, and at that time, the concept of 3D games was just new in the market. Unity is still a widely popular game engine for 2D games besides several others. But Unity3D game development offers us an altogether different approach towards game development. The game engine is well equipped to build games across various genres, including puzzles, FPS, fantasy sports, RPG, Story Mode, Open World, etc.

There is no dearth of sophisticated and well-equipped game engines in the market. But why does Unity3D game development lead in terms of popularity and success? What's so special about this game engine? Let's find out.

It is Free and Open Source

It is quite natural for any new game project to have financial constraints. When you are launching a game app for the first time, you will have fewer resources to invest in game engines and development tools. This is why Unity3D game development has become so popular. Unity comes as the completely free and open-source game engine, but you can always opt for the paid or premium version as well.

The best thing about this game engine is that the free version accessible through the web is pretty robust and well equipped. As a new game developer, you don't need to hurry to embrace a premium version. The free version of the Unity engine ensures visually engaging and feature-loaded games for different device platforms. So, when using Unity for a game project, the free version doesn't necessarily deliver a cheaper quality.

Cross-Platform Capabilities

Mobile games that allow creating versions for multiple platforms simultaneously are helpful in quickly marketing the game title. Mobile game apps can simultaneously target both iOS and Android platforms with cross-platform capabilities. Several leading mobile game apps are built with cross-platform capabilities.

The cross-platform capabilities of Unity help any mobile game development studios reach out to a broader audience across platforms while investing in a single game app project.

Unity is loved by mobile game development and console-based game development companies for its excellent support for different formats and platforms. From building games for iOS and Android to developing games for the latest game consoles such as Sony PlayStation and Microsoft XBOX to building games for desktop platforms such as Windows or MAC, Unity can be effective for every platform.

Simple Coding

Another crucial aspect that favors this gaming technology is its use of familiar technologies. Unlike many such gaming technologies, the game engine supports multiple programming languages, including JavaScript, C+, and several others.

This flexibility on account of technology and tools helps a development company save time, effort, and investment on game projects. Developers having coding skills and expertise with any of these languages can work on a Unity 3D game project.

Unity Boasts of a Large and Active Community

For any development technology, having robust community support is of extreme importance. It is common for game developers to get stuck often at specific points and when they need support from experienced developers to get through the situation. This is where the Unity game engine comes to your rescue.

Unity boasts one of the largest and most active developer communities to help your game projects with frequent inputs. From troubleshooting to game app testing to strategic advice, the developer community can help you in every regard.

Unity Asset Store

Unity is often cited as the preferred game engine because of the robust and loaded Unity Asset Store. The asset store offers you everything and anything you need to build a sophisticated and feature-rich game app. There are materials within the asset store for every type and niche of games. The best thing is that most of the game assets here are already tested and tried worldwide across many successful game projects.

Both 2D and 3D at One Go

Unity is the most versatile game engine that offers game app development in 2D and 3D formats. While considering the potential of Unity3D game development, we should not shun our attention on the platform's excellent 2D game development capabilities. Most importantly, you can create awesome 2D games in just hours with the Unity game engine. The venue is fully open for game engineers and creators to experiment with 2D and 3D gaming technologies.

AR/VR Capabilities

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality represent the latest smart gaming technologies with the promise of an immersive gaming experience. Both of these technologies have gradually become the liberators for so-called 3D games. Fortunately, Unity3D game development projects can use these immersive technologies for game app projects. The immersive and engaging visual gaming experience of Unity VR or AR games remains unparalleled.

Unity for Multiplayer Games

A key reason behind the popularity of Unity3D game development is its ability to develop awesome multiplayer games. Leading game development companies have used the engine innumerable times for building addictive multiplayer games. With Unity, developers can create sophisticated and finest multiplayer games without much effort and time.

Since building multiplayer games is expensive and involves a big development budget, it is essential to maintain compatibility with leading game consoles and all platforms. When multiplayer games come with their respective variations for desktops, insoles, and mobile platforms, they have bigger scope to become successful and popular. This is where Unity can be a genuinely appropriate development solution.

The Unity Gaming Engine is Easy

There are too many high-quality and acclaimed gaming engines that have come into the market in recent years. But none of them really could make as big and deep an impression as Unity. Why is this so? What gives Unity an edge over all other gaming engines out there? Unity is extremely easy for game developers, a fundamental value proposition for this game engine.

The best thing about Unity is that it allows you to develop a game from scratch without expert help. The game engine offers a broad spectrum of out-of-the-box development tools for building high-end games shaped after unique and awesome rich gaming ideas. The ultimate help comes from the extraordinary range of free online resources covering every aspect of Unity3D game development. With Unity, you are never alone because other Unity developers' time-tested solutions can meet every development challenge and issue.

Plenty of Web Resources

A game engine excels and gets popular also because of its excellent range of online resources. Unity3D game development is popular because of the platform's unparalleled range of tutorials and resources. Aspiring game developers can always honor their development skills by incorporating learning into the actual game app project through these online resources. These tutorials also allow you to develop simple games before putting your efforts into the final project.

Conclusion
We have covered all the tremendous advantages offered by the Unity gaming engine. Such a game engine has a few cons as well. But these minor drawbacks and shortcomings are labeled out quite well by the pros of this platform. No wonder Unity is already considered a must-have technical skill for most game developers.