Unreal:Linux Support

Epic now considers Linux UE4 Editor "done" and ready for Early Access. Therefore, please use it, break it, and report about it. Know that there are still bugs in the Editor, so ymmv.

Big picture view

There are two major directions in UE4 Linux development - the first being helping people, who might not have had prior experience with Linux, to easily support SteamOS, while the second - giving Linux folks at large ability to use and develop with Unreal Engine on this Almighty platform.

For the first group, we want to provide smooth, "console-like" experience, where they just need to install a Linux "SDK" in order to compile and package Linux games without having to switch from Mac or Windows.

The second group - where you probably belong - is expected to have more knowledge and be prepared to delve into nitty-gritty details, if needed.

Depending on which group you are from, you may be interested in either cross-compilation or native development. Be advised that currently cross-compilation path is better supported, while native development is being worked upon - you really want to be present on our IRC channel (#ue4linux on Freenode) if you choose the red pill.

Present state of Unreal Engine 4 on Linux

You can compile and run UE Server, Game, Client and the Editor natively in Linux. You can also cross-compile content for Linux on Windows ie. cook and package your projects for Linux platform. Presently there's no way to cross-compile content for Windows on Linux.

Of course, we also welcome any help you might be able to offer to further develop UE4 Editor in Linux and bring it up to par with other two platforms. Please come by IRC #ue4linux on the FreeNode network and chat with us about it.

Roadmap

Unreal Server

This is already supported as of the first release.

Unreal Game/Client

This now works as expected natively, plus through cross-compiling from Windows (separate download, from the release section on GitHub).

Unreal Frontend

TBD

Unreal Editor

Epic declared mission accomplished on June 2, 2015 with Editor ready for Early Access. Still no Launcher and no binary distribution, so you will have to continue to compile from GitHub source.Please read the instructions on how to get the Editor running.

Unreal Launcher

Unofficial word is that we might see the Unreal Launcher in Linux sometime during the 4.8 cycle, but there has been no commitment from Epic on any concrete release dates.

It does not appear that Launcher will happen for 4.8, so keep looking forward sometime in July 2015?, or between now and October 2025.

Supported platforms

Linux x86-64

This is the primary architecture we are supporting.

Distros

Presently, most success with running UE4Editor has been seen when using Ubuntu 14.04LTS, followed by Gentoo.

Arch Linux users are currently having some running issues with threads that we hope we can resolve in the near future. As of version 4.8 there is a blocking issue which requires a recompilation of glibc to increase DTV_SURPLUS count (to 32) to enable loading all the required shared objects with static TLS. The details can be found here. This thread reports that the issue has been fixed as of September 2015.

Future and beyond

We would like Unreal Engine 4 on Linux to have the same recognition as Windows and OS X platforms. Our hope is that 3rd party vendors will include Linux when making plugins, addons, or Middleware for it.

Ideas

• Epic's build live at /opt/epic, so it will be /opt/epic/{4.X,Launcher,etc}

Need help?

Although there's no official support for native Linux Editor from Epic, people from irc://irc.freenode.net/UE4Linux might be able to offer some help. You can find archived IRC discussions at http://teemperor.de/ue4-logs/ue4linux/ and https://scrollback.io/ue4linux/