Overview / Showdown
Three ways to build in 3D.
What each one is, what it costs and where it runs, from each project's own pages. Measured head-to-head results come once a same-machine round is cleared.
| Talos Engine | Unreal Engine 5 | three.js | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A game engine and editor built for AI-driven development | A game engine and editor | A JavaScript 3D library |
| Your AI assistant | Built in: almost every editor action is a tool it calls over MCP, a critic checks each change, a playtester plays the game | An MCP plugin and an AI assistant plugin, both experimental | No official MCP server or assistant |
| Price for a game | Free to evaluate during the beta; for teams, a pilot, then a yearly development license (pricing on request) | Free until a game earns $1M, then a 5% royalty on its gross revenue | Free (MIT license) |
| Royalties | None during the beta; licensing terms set in the agreement | 5% above $1M per game | None |
| Scripting | TypeScript | C++ and Blueprints (visual scripting) | JavaScript |
| Editor runs on | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows, macOS and Linux | Code, plus a browser-based editor |
| Ships to | Windows and Linux; web in preview; Mac and phones later | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and consoles; no official web export | Web browsers with WebGL 2 or WebGPU |
| Recommended PC | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and a DirectX 12 or Vulkan graphics card | Quad-core 2.5 GHz, 32 GB RAM, 8 GB of graphics memory | A browser with WebGL 2 or WebGPU |
| Source code | Not public | Available to licensees, who may change it privately | Open source (MIT) |
| Track record | Early beta | Released (version 5.8) | Released (r187) |
Sources
- Unreal Engine: the Unreal Engine End User License Agreement (Epic Games, royalty addendum); Unreal Engine 5.8 release notes; Unreal MCP in Unreal Editor (5.8 documentation); Hardware and Software Specifications for Unreal Engine (5.8); Sharing and Releasing Projects (5.8); Programming with C++ and Blueprints Visual Scripting (5.8).
- three.js: its README and LICENSE on GitHub, its manual (WebGL compatibility check, WebGPURenderer) and its llms.txt.
- Talos Engine: our roadmap, the measured figures on Features, the Beta tester terms and our planned prices on Licensing.