Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney told Unreal Fest 2023 that developers using Unreal Engine in the film, TV, automotive, and other industries can expect to start paying a per-seat licensing fee.

He claimed that the pricing model will not be "unusually expensive or unusually inexpensive," and its pricing structure will be like subscription services like Maya or Photoshop. Sweeney said he wanted to announce these changes in the name of "transparency."

He also shed some light on the business decisions that led to the company making unexpectedly significant business shifts in the last week. Apparently, Epic Games began running into "financial problems" about 10 weeks ago, meaning that the company was facing some sort of financial downturn from late July through September.

Epic Games' business had been "heavily funded by Fortnite" in the last six years, and different parts of the company became "disconnected" from their revenue streams. It adds some context to previous comments made by Sweeney about the impact of declined Fortnite revenue. If the company's signature game had started losing cash, other parts of Epic Games may not have made up for declining revenue.