Unity vs Unreal for Mobile Development in 2025

Introduction

The debate between Unity and Unreal Engine for mobile game development continues to evolve as both engines release new updates and features. In 2025, the landscape has shifted significantly, with Unreal making major strides in mobile optimization while Unity continues to dominate the mobile market share.

For Australian developers, choosing the right engine is a critical decision that impacts not just development but also publishing, monetization, and long-term success. In this comprehensive comparison, we'll examine the current state of both engines for mobile development, with a particular focus on the Australian development scene.

Performance Comparison

Performance is arguably the most crucial factor for mobile games, as devices have limited resources compared to consoles and PCs.

Unity Mobile Performance

Unity has long been optimized for mobile platforms, and in 2025, it continues to provide excellent performance across a wide range of devices. Recent updates have further improved the engine's efficiency:

• Adaptive Performance Package: Automatically adjusts graphics settings based on device capabilities and thermal conditions.
• Burst Compiler: Translates Unity's C# code into highly optimized native code, significantly improving performance on mobile devices.
• Entity Component System (ECS): Data-oriented design approach that can handle thousands of objects efficiently, perfect for mobile games with large numbers of entities.
• Device Simulator: Allows developers to test performance across various device profiles without physical hardware.

Unreal Mobile Performance

Unreal Engine has made tremendous strides in mobile optimization with Unreal Engine 5:

• Nanite: While scaled back on mobile compared to high-end platforms, still provides impressive geometry detail with optimized performance.
• Lumen: Mobile-optimized version provides global illumination at a fraction of the computational cost.
• Mobile Forward Renderer: Specifically designed to balance visual quality and performance on mobile devices.
• Virtual Shadow Maps: Provides high-quality shadows with lower performance overhead.

Despite these improvements, Unreal still typically requires more powerful mobile hardware than Unity for equivalent performance. For Australian developers targeting the domestic market (where high-end devices are common), this may not be a significant issue. However, those targeting global markets, especially regions with lower-end device prevalence, may find Unity's broader device compatibility advantageous.

Development Workflow

The development experience differs significantly between the two engines, influencing productivity and team dynamics.

Unity Workflow

Unity's workflow is generally considered more accessible, especially for smaller teams or solo developers (which represent a significant portion of the Australian mobile development scene):

• C# Scripting: More approachable for many developers, especially those with a web or application development background.
• Visual Scripting: Now built-in, allowing non-programmers to create gameplay mechanics.
• Asset Store: Extensive marketplace with numerous mobile-optimized assets.
• Unified Editor: Single interface for most development tasks.
• Package Manager: Modular approach allows developers to include only the features they need, keeping projects lean for mobile.

Unreal Workflow

Unreal's workflow tends to favor larger teams with specialized roles:

• Blueprints: Visual scripting system that allows designers to create gameplay without writing code.
• C++: Offers high performance but steeper learning curve compared to C#.
• Material Editor: Powerful node-based system for creating optimized mobile materials.
• Marketplace: Growing collection of assets, though still smaller than Unity's for mobile-specific content.
• Content-Driven Pipeline: Excellent for larger teams with specialized roles.

Many Australian studios we've worked with report that Unity's workflow allows them to iterate more quickly and bring games to market faster, a crucial advantage in the competitive mobile space. However, studios with experience in Unreal for console or PC development may find the transition to mobile development smoother if they stick with Unreal.

Graphics and Visual Quality

While mobile platforms have graphical limitations, visual quality remains an important differentiator in the crowded app stores.

Unity Graphics

Unity offers several render pipeline options for mobile:

• Universal Render Pipeline (URP): Optimized for mobile with a good balance of features and performance.
• Shader Graph: Visual shader creation tool that simplifies creating mobile-optimized shaders.
• 2D Renderer: Specialized pipeline for 2D games, which remain popular on mobile platforms.
• Post-processing Stack: Mobile-optimized effects that add visual polish without excessive performance costs.

Unreal Graphics

Unreal has historically been known for superior graphics, and this extends to mobile with some caveats:

• Mobile Forward Renderer: Provides impressive visual quality while maintaining reasonable performance.
• Material System: Extremely powerful but requires careful optimization for mobile.
• Niagara: Particle system that can be scaled back for efficient mobile performance while still providing impressive effects.
• Post-process System: Comprehensive but requires judicious use on mobile.

For Australian developers creating graphically intensive 3D games targeting high-end devices, Unreal can provide a visual edge. However, Unity's URP strikes an excellent balance for most mobile games and is particularly well-suited to the casual and mid-core games that dominate the Australian mobile development landscape.

Monetization and Platform Integration

For commercial mobile games, monetization features and platform integration are critical considerations.

Unity Monetization

Unity provides robust monetization options:

• Unity Ads: Built-in ad solution with high fill rates in Australia.
• Unity IAP: Streamlined in-app purchase implementation across platforms.
• Unity Mediation: Ad mediation solution to optimize ad revenue.
• Unity Gaming Services: Comprehensive suite for analytics, user acquisition, and monetization.
• Platform SDKs: Well-documented integration with platform-specific features (Apple Game Center, Google Play Games, etc.).

Unreal Monetization

Unreal has improved its mobile monetization support:

• Online Subsystem: Framework for integrating platform services, though requires more manual setup than Unity.
• Third-party Plugins: Various marketplace solutions for ads and IAP, though typically requiring more integration work.
• Analytics: Basic analytics included, with options to integrate third-party solutions.

For Australian developers focused on free-to-play titles (which dominate the mobile market), Unity's more mature monetization ecosystem provides a significant advantage. From our work with Australian studios, we've observed that Unity's monetization tools typically result in faster implementation and higher initial ARPU (Average Revenue Per User).

Community and Support

The ecosystem surrounding an engine can be as important as the technology itself, especially for solving problems and staying current with best practices.

Unity Community

Unity has established a strong presence in Australia with:

• Local User Groups: Active communities in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
• Educational Resources: Strong adoption in Australian universities and TAFE programs.
• Documentation: Extensive, with specific sections dedicated to mobile development.
• Third-party Tutorials: Abundant resources specifically for mobile game creation.
• Australian Unity Developers: A large pool of experienced developers in the local job market.

Unreal Community

Unreal's presence in Australia has grown significantly:

• Epic Games Australia: Increased local support and community engagement.
• Console/PC Focus: Stronger representation in the AAA and console development space in Australia.
• Documentation: Comprehensive but sometimes less focused on mobile-specific challenges.
• Growing Mobile Community: Increasing adoption for mobile development, though still smaller than Unity's mobile community.

The Unity ecosystem currently provides more targeted support for mobile developers in Australia, but Unreal is catching up quickly as more studios adopt the engine for mobile projects.

Business Considerations

Licensing, cost structure, and long-term business implications differ between the engines.

Unity Business Model

• Tiered Subscription: Unity Personal (free for developers with revenue/funding under $100K), Unity Plus, Unity Pro, and Unity Enterprise.
• Unity Runtime Fee: Recently announced per-install fees for games above certain revenue and install thresholds.
• Unity Ads Revenue Share: Unity takes a percentage of ad revenue.
• No Royalties: No revenue share on game sales (outside of the new runtime fee model).

Unreal Business Model

• Royalty Model: 5% royalty on game revenue above $1M USD.
• No Upfront Cost: Full access to all features without subscription fees.
• Source Code Access: Complete engine source code available for customization.
• Enterprise Support: Available for larger studios.

For many Australian indie developers and small studios, Unity's free tier remains attractive for initial development. However, with Unity's recent pricing changes, Unreal's royalty model may become more competitive for certain projects, especially those expecting moderate success rather than blockbuster status.

Australian Success Stories

Looking at successful Australian mobile games provides real-world perspective on engine choice.

Notable Unity Mobile Games from Australia

• Crossy Road by Hipster Whale
• Framed by Loveshack Entertainment
• Hollow Knight (mobile port) by Team Cherry
• Ski Safari by Defiant Development

Notable Unreal Mobile Games from Australia

• Ghostbusters World (co-developed by PlaySide Studios)
• ARK: Survival Evolved Mobile (co-developed by War Drum Studios Australia)

While Unity has historically dominated the Australian mobile development scene, we're seeing increased adoption of Unreal for mobile projects, particularly for games with 3D graphics targeting higher-end devices.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Both engines are capable of producing exceptional mobile games, but they excel in different scenarios.

Choose Unity if:

• You're targeting a wide range of devices, including lower-end Android phones
• You're developing a 2D game or a stylized 3D game
• You have a small team or are a solo developer
• Rapid iteration and quick time-to-market are priorities
• Integrated monetization tools are important
• You're creating a casual or mid-core game

Choose Unreal if:

• You're targeting primarily high-end devices
• Cutting-edge graphics are a key selling point
• You have a larger team with specialized roles
• You already have Unreal experience from console or PC development
• You prefer a royalty model to upfront costs
• You need to heavily customize the engine (source code access)

The Australian mobile development community continues to thrive with both engines, and we're excited to see the innovative games our local developers will create in 2025 and beyond. If you need personalized guidance on engine selection for your specific project, contact our team for a consultation.