About using unreal engine 4 for explicit sexual content, and making money from it

Development Asset Creation
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Am I allowed to use Unreal Engine to produce games with graphic, explicit sexual content, and am I allowed to sell this content?

I dabble in adult artwork to make a few bucks beside my part time job. I’d like to extend to 3d models, as well as offering a small gametoy to my clients. The gametoy would be built in Unreal Engine 4 because blueprint system makes this engine amazingly approachable. These gametoys would feature sexually explicit content of various subject matters.

Oh, I define gametoy as being like a game, but with no set objective and very small scale. In these toys, the player will be able to bop around a few free levels I’ll produce with their character, including platforming, shooting, flying and other common game mechanics. There will also be some sexual activities they can partake in.

I’ll be doing this for money, and on a person-by-person basis. It won’t be a single large release, but many personalized gametoys depending on the specific client. I don’t imagine I’d even make up to $1000 in a whole year doing these. Probably closer to only $500 or less. I’m happy to provide 5% of my gross to Epic Games as they rightly deserve, but I don’t know if this is something I’m even allowed to do with their engine.

I do have some family-friendly projects I’m working on that will be released on Steam when the time comes. I’ve already check this page: Richtlinien für die Veröffentlichung und Lizenzgebührennachverfolgung - Unreal Engine for details about what to do when I release them. However, I don’t think those instructions are appropriate for this particular project, given their tiny size and price. I’ll be releasing these gametoys for free to everybody (except the client who paid for their creation.)

I can provide more details about how I intend to proceed if necessary. I did find this post That question: can UE4 be used for porn games? - Platform & Builds - Epic Developer Community Forums which seems to suggest it’s fine to create this material. That’s fabulous if it’s correct, BUT my question here is also about money. If I make money with this engine, I very much want to give Epic their fair share. It won’t be much (as I don’t imagine I’ll be doing many dozens of these gametoys), but it’s important to me.

Merry Christmas everybody. <3~

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Epic doesn’t police the content of its Unreal Engine users. The only related restriction is that the content be legal (the license is for “any lawful purpose.” Generally, most adult content is legal, although there are limits to that, particularly depending on where you’re operating.

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Thank you for your reply!

But how would I handle the money issue? Just send 5% of my gross earnings at the end of every yearly quarter like normal?

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You only need to pay royalties once your gross earnings reach a certain threshold. If you do not make a gross revenue of $3000 or more per calendar quarter, then you do not owe any royalties to Epic Games. Royalties are covered in detail in the EULA.

If you make beyond $3000 per calendar quarter, then you would report the earnings to Epic Games as normal. It is arguable that making content on a player-by-player basis that is not distributed for a flat fee and that is tailored to each “player” could constitute a “work-for-hire” fee. If that’s the case, you wouldn’t owe royalties even if you exceeded $3000. You can cross that bridge when you come to it!