RPS:
Valve’s sudden entry into the engine race, with an official announcement of Source 2, seems to have put them right up front alongside frenzied rivals Unity and Unreal. (Poor old Crytek, eh?) Meeting with studio founder Erik Johnson today, I learned that when they say Source 2 is “free”, they mean it. Unlike Unity’s (much lowered) subscription rates (for larger teams), and Epic’s revenue cut of successful projects, Valve won’t be asking for any money at all. Well, sort of… They just require that the game be launched on Steam, along with anywhere else you might want to sell it.
Half-Life and Portal writer Erik Wolpaw has detailed how his team has been using Generative AI for research and development at Valve.
Valve has responded to New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the firm, stating it does not believe that lootboxes in its Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 games unlawfully encourage minors to gamble, adding it was "disappointed" to see the action go ahead despite efforts to "educate" the NYAG about virtual items since "early 2023."
Glad to see that some popular engines are becoming free.And that means more people will make games which means everyone will benefit
Suggesting they don't want royalties is marketing speak. Its a rather shallow advertisement since they still be picking up the distribution percentage on Steam.
Source 2 isn't that great an engine sadly, it's outdated for today's standards. But could work wonders for indie developers, which I believe this "free" engines are directed to