Quick answer: use version control from day one. Which one matters less than using it.
- Solo or small team, mostly code: Git with Git LFS. Free, widely known, lots of hosting options.
- Team with artists and lots of big assets: Perforce (P4). It’s the industry standard for Unreal, and it’s free for up to 5 users and 20 workspaces.
- Want something friendlier for artists: look at newer game-focused tools such as Anchorpoint or Diversion, and compare their current plans.
Why you need it
Version control saves every change you commit. When something breaks, you can see what changed and go back. It’s also how a team works on the same project without overwriting each other.
A cloud-synced folder (Dropbox, OneDrive and similar) isn’t a substitute. It doesn’t give you clean restore points, and syncing a project while the editor is writing files can cause problems.
The big Unreal problem: binary files
Most Unreal content (.uasset and .umap files) is binary. Two people can’t edit the same Blueprint or level and merge their changes the way you’d merge code.
The fix is file locking: whoever edits a file locks it, and everyone else waits. Perforce does this naturally. Git can do it through Git LFS locks, but your host and your team need to actually use them.
Git with Git LFS
Pros
- Free and the most widely known version control.
- Lots of hosts (GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps and others) and tools.
- Great for code, and most programmers already know it.
Cons
- Large files need Git LFS. Hosting plans limit LFS storage and bandwidth, so check what your host includes.
- File locking exists, but it’s easy for a team to forget it.
- The command line puts off many artists.
Perforce (P4)
Pros
- Used by most large Unreal studios, and Epic’s own workflows are built around it.
- Handles huge files and big projects well.
- Built-in checkout and locking suits artists and designers.
- Free for up to 5 users and 20 workspaces.
Cons
- You need a server: run it yourself or pay for hosting.
- Setup and admin take more learning than Git.
- Beyond the free tier, it’s paid per user.
Newer game-focused tools
Tools like Anchorpoint (a friendly app on top of Git) and Diversion (a cloud-based system) aim to make version control easier for artists and small teams. They can be a good fit, but they change faster than Git or Perforce, so check their current features and pricing first.
Which to choose
| Your situation | Good choice |
|---|---|
| Solo developer, learning | Git + Git LFS |
| Small team, mostly programmers | Git + Git LFS with locking |
| Team with several artists | Perforce, or a game-focused tool |
| Big project, lots of large assets | Perforce |
What not to commit
Whichever you use, skip the folders Unreal rebuilds itself: Binaries, Intermediate, Saved and DerivedDataCache, plus IDE files such as .vs and generated .sln files. Committing them makes your repository huge for no benefit.
FAQ
Does Unreal have version control built in?
Unreal has a Revision Control panel that connects to Perforce, Git (through a plugin) and others, so you can check out and submit from the editor.
Is GitHub enough for an Unreal project?
For small projects, yes, with Git LFS. Watch your LFS storage limits as the project grows.
I’m solo. Do I really need this?
Yes. It’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever have against a corrupted file or a bad change.
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