For studios with years of shipped game code in their repositories

Sell game source code: what the engine lets you keep and pass on

Subject
Game middleware software data terms
Date read
Basis
19 vendors' own documents, 20 read

Your own code is yours to license, but a Unity or Unreal project also carries engine code, store-bought assets and middleware, each under its own licence. We read 20 licence documents from 19 engine, middleware and asset store vendors up to 2026-10-28 to show which parts can leave the studio.

Source: Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source

Tell us what the repositories hold

The code
  • A person reads each source code enquiry
  • No engine maker or buyer here sees what you send
  • No code, keys or repository access is asked for

Game engine and middleware licences on a studio's code, vendor by vendor

  1. 4 of 19 game engine and middleware licences read up to 2026-10-28 say the studio owns what it builds.(Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)
Engine or middlewareWho owns the game built on itVendor's use of studio data for AIStudio content at account endSource
Bevynot statednot statednot statedBevy MIT licence
Crytek, CRYENGINEnot statednot statedno export promisedCRYENGINE Terms of Service
Defoldnot statednot statednot statedThe Defold License
Epic Games, Unreal Enginethe businessnot statednot statedUnreal Engine EULA
Epic Games, Unreal Engine contentthe businessnot statednot statedUnreal Engine content EULA
Esoteric Software, Spine Editornot statednot statednot statedSpine Editor License
Esoteric Software, Spine Runtimesnot statednot statednot statedSpine Runtimes License
Fabthe businessnot statednot statedFab EULA
Firelight Technologies, FMODnot statednot statednot statedFMOD licensing page
Havokthe businessnot statednot statedHavok terms of use
inkle, inknot statednot statednot statedink MIT licence
Mirrornot statednot statednot statedMirror MIT licence
OGREnot statednot statednot statedOGRE licensing page
Open 3D Enginenot statednot statednot statedO3DE licence file
RPG Makernot statednot statednot statedRPG Maker EULA
Unity Asset Storenot statednot statednot statedAsset Store Terms of Service and EULA
Unity, Editornot statednot statednot statedUnity Editor Software Terms
Unity, packagesnot statednot statednot statedUnity Package Distribution License
Valve, Steamworks SDKnot statednot statednot statedSteamworks SDK Access Agreement
Each row is one engine, middleware or asset store licence, linked to the document it was read from. A stated answer rests on a sentence in that document; where the pages we read are silent, the row says not stated.Updated

Each vendor's own published terms were read through estate-fetch and stored whole (sha256 on every row). For every document, four questions were answered from the vendor's own words: who owns the business's data, vendor keeps aggregated or anonymised use, training AI on the business's data, export at exit. Every stated answer carries the sentence it rests on, checked against the stored text; 'not stated' means the document read does not address the question. A vendor with several documents reads 'varies' where they disagree. 19 vendors, 20 documents.

Cite: “Game engine and middleware licences on a studio's code, vendor by vendor”, Sell Game Source Code, https://sellgamesourcecode.com/ (updated 2026-10-28).

How it works

  1. Say what engine the code is built on and what middleware it calls.
  2. We read those licences against the clauses on the board.
  3. You get a written answer on which parts are yours to license, and decide from there.

No engine maker, middleware vendor or buyer paid to appear here, none was asked before it was read, and no link on this site pays us. Our answers read published licences and are no substitute for legal advice on your own contracts. How this site is paid: if a studio licenses code or data to a buyer this site introduced, our fee is 12.5% of the deal, with a minimum, when we act as the studio's exclusive agent, or 10% with a minimum when its data joins a bundle or the pool, agreed in writing beforehand; any fee a buyer pays us is credited back to the studio.

Frequently asked

Can I sell my game's source code?

The code your team wrote, yes, if the studio holds its copyright. Unreal's EULA says you own all rights in the products you develop, other than rights in the engine itself. What you cannot sell is the engine, store-bought assets or middleware inside the project, which their own licences keep. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

Can I sell a Unity project with Asset Store assets in it?

Not with the assets as they stand. The Asset Store EULA lets a buyer distribute an asset only as incorporated and embedded in a licensed product, and its clause (g) bars using assets to train an AI or machine learning model without the express consent of the provider or Unity. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

Does the Unreal Engine EULA let me sell my code to an AI company?

Your own code, yes; the engine code, no. Unreal lets you distribute engine code only to a third party separately licensed by Epic for the same version, and its EULA bars any use that results in the licensed technology becoming a training input to a generative AI program. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

What about middleware like FMOD, Havok or Spine?

Their code stays with them. FMOD's EULA allows only the FMOD Engine run-time libraries to be distributed, Havok says redistribution outside the licence agreement is prohibited, and the Spine Runtimes require each user of a product to hold their own Spine Editor licence. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

Is game source code protected by copyright?

Yes, in both the US and the UK. US law defines a computer program as a set of statements or instructions used in a computer to bring about a result, and the Copyright Office treats source code and object code as two representations of the same work. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

Do engine makers keep a copy of my code or data?

On this board, 0 of the 19 licences reserve an aggregated or anonymised copy of a studio's data, and none of them says the vendor may train its own models on it. (Game middleware software data terms: every row, with its source)

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

The question this page is here to answer

How is a game's source code protected and registered in the US and the UK, and what may a licensee do with a program without the owner?

Tell us the engine, the middleware and where the assets came from, and we will check them against the 20 licence documents on this board in a written reply.

Answered by Sell Game Source Code, which reads every enquiry this page takes.

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