Unreal Engine 5 performance problems are developers' fault, not ours, says Epic

Unreal Engine 5 performance issues aren't the fault of Epic, but instead down to developers prioritising "top-tier hardware," says CEO of Epic, Tim Sweeney. This misplaced focus ultimately leaves low-spec testing until the final stages of development, which is what is being called out as the primary cause of the issues we currently see.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is the latest Unreal Engine 5 game to be suffering from big performance issues, making the timing of Sweeney's comments quite relevant. It appears as though any fears that you'll need to upgrade to the best graphics card from our buying guide to play these new games are unfounded, and instead, there is simply more work to be done on optimizing games for low-spec hardware.

Tim Sweeney's comments may explain what developers are getting wrong, or perhaps it's a case of Epic trying to save face with Unreal Engine 5 in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons right now.

Speaking on the problems after Unreal Fest in South Korea in an interview translated by Clawsomegamer, he states "the main cause is the order of development," and further clarifies this by saying "many studios build for top-tier hardware first and leave optimization and low-spec testing for the end." In short, developers are too focused on appeasing gamers with high-end gaming PCs or consoles, and everyone else is suffering as a result.

There are still a few big Unreal Engine 5 games set to release in the remainder of 2025, so we'll see whether any more issues arise and whether or not any developers have a reaction to these comments.

In the meantime, Sweeney confirms that more support is coming to developers using Unreal Engine 5, including "automated optimization across devices" as well as "expanding developer education" to ensure that optimizing early "becomes standard practice."

I've tested quite a few Unreal Engine 5 games, the most recent of which was Mafia The Old Country. It's been painful at times trying to get the best out of these games on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, which typically performs well at the high-to-ultra settings for most new games. Instead, we managed a 79fps average and 59fps 1% low when using mostly medium settings at 1,920 x 1,080, a rather disappointing result.

I've had similar struggles with games such as Wuchang Fallen Feathers, Killing Floor 3, and the Hell is Us demo. With each game coming in with performance numbers way below what I would expect.

This doesn't quite tell the whole story, though, as some games developed in Unreal Engine 5 have been just fine. Take Oblivion Remastered, Split Fiction, and Ready or Not, which have all made the move without many major hiccups, if you can overlook Oblivion's misguided Steam Deck rating.

Games such as Fortnite, Valorant, and Dead by Daylight have also made the switch seemingly without issue, so the main concerns appear to be with games fully developed for the first time using Unreal Engine 5.

If you're struggling to get the most out of games, regardless of which engine they're developed with, you can check out our guide to the best gaming PC and scout out a potential upgrade.

Have you had trouble with games developed using Unreal Engine 5? Let us know your experiences so far over in our Discord channel.