If you have never written a line of game code and you are trying to choose between Unity, Godot, and Unreal, the internet will give you fifty contradictory answers in your first hour of searching. This article is the answer we give to people who ask us in person.
We are a Unity-specialist studio. I have spent 12 years building games, including a tenure as Mobile Team on RuneScape Mobile at Jagex. Over that time I have mentored a steady stream of new developers entering the industry. We picked Unity for our commercial work, deliberately, and we will say upfront where that lens does and does not serve you. The advice below is what I would tell a friend's teenager who asked which engine to learn first, not the version where I am trying to win you as a client.
Three things drive whether a beginner finishes their first game or quietly abandons it: the engine's first-week friction, the quality of the free learning material, and whether the language and tools punish you or reward you when you make a mistake. Comparison articles obsess over feature lists. Beginners obsess over whether they can get something on screen by Saturday. We are going to talk about Saturday.
The 30-Second Answer
If you skim nothing else, take this:
