Just my 2c.
UE4 has won this generation of game engines in my eye, I think crytek should take a step back and re-evaluate everything. Maybe they learn from UE4 and compete with UE5 in a few more years or maybe they boldly fork UE4 and add their value as a 3rd party fork/plugin.
I think the sunk costs are too large but I'd love to see Valve fork UE4 and put their engineering might next to Epic's. Would love to hear why this thought of mine is naive/misguided.
UE4 source code isn't open source (to fork), though the code is available to look at. One could reimplement it, but the engineering effort will be monstrous.
https://www.unrealengine.com/faq
"What modifications can I make to the source code?"
"You can extend it, modify it, fork it, or integrate it with other software or libraries, with one exception: You can’t combine the Unreal Engine code with code covered by a “Copyleft” license agreement which would directly or indirectly require the Unreal Engine to be governed by terms other than the EULA."
Steam is a juggernaut sales and income producer for Valve, they can easily afford to buy Epic now. That would bring the engine tech, talent and community in-house, and eliminate licensing fees for Valve. There would also be a lot Valve could then do with the UE4 market in tandem with steam.
Choice and competition are forever being reduced or increased. Nothing can ever stop that gyration. It is in fact desirable at times for mergers to occur.
I have absolutely no problem with Valve buying Epic. Your premise rests solely on the notion that the combination would be bad due to the scale and consolidation it causes. I reject that entirely and contend it would be better for consumers.
I don't consider "ultra rich" to inherently be an insult or negative. Valve deserves all of their success. Hopefully they buy Epic, as they're an excellent ultra-rich corporation.
There are no by-gun-point cartels in video gaming such that another person or company can't compete. The dramatic fall from grace - and large red ink production - of Electronic Arts a few years ago nicely proved that. If Valve buys Epic and it doesn't work out to the benefit of video game consumers, another developer will step up and gain from the Valve failure, seizing a new opportunity, as has been happening in video gaming for decades non-stop and will continue to happen.
I'm seeing a strong preference for Unity in the VR world, for what it's worth. Unity CEO claims that 90-95% of VR games/apps/experiences use Unity.
[0] Well, if you have the patience for video tutorials and GUI interfaces. I grew up in a different age for programming training.
It's technical excellence (esp. w.r.t. rendering) was low relative to the competition the last time I checked (~ 1 year ago). If Hearthstone is great, I suspect it's because the game designers (the people who make something fun) are good at their jobs.
Really, I suppose it comes down to the strengths of your team and your goals (fun, mind-blowing visuals, dev time, etc.). I'm sure there is a place for quite a lot of game engines to exist given the trade-offs involved.
But anyway, I was describing how one might have the perception of the person to which I was replying.
Performance is atrocious compared to other engines.