What is proprietary engine?

A proprietary engine is a game engine developed and owned by a specific company, which is not available for use or licensing by other developers. These engines are often created by studios that want to have complete control over the technology they use in their games and do not want to share it with others.

Some examples of popular proprietary game engines include the Frostbite engine developed by EA DICE, the Source engine developed by Valve Corporation, and the Lumberyard engine developed by Amazon Game Studios.

Proprietary engines allow developers to have more flexibility and customization options, as they can be tailored specifically to the needs of a particular game or studio. However, they also require a larger investment of time and resources to develop and maintain compared to using a third-party engine.

Overall, proprietary engines can offer a competitive advantage to developers who have the resources and expertise to create and support their own technology, but they may not be suitable for smaller studios or independent developers due to the high costs and technical expertise required.