How to Use Unreal Engine Remotely?

Working with Unreal Engine – one of the most powerful game and 3D development platforms – traditionally requires a high-end workstation at your fingertips. But what happens when you’re away from your office rig or need to collaborate with a distributed team? Being able to use Unreal Engine remotely is increasingly important for productivity. In this article, we’ll explore how developers and creatives can harness remote desktop technology to run Unreal Engine from anywhere, with top performance and security. We’ll also touch on the emerging role of containers in streamlining remote access for heavy-duty apps like Unreal.

Why Run Unreal Engine Remotely?

Remote access to Unreal Engine can be a game-changer for many professionals and organizations. Here are a few scenarios where remote Unreal Engine workflows make a difference:

• Indie Developers & Freelancers: Access a powerful desktop or cloud workstation running Unreal Engine from a lightweight laptop. This means you’re not tied to a single location or device, yet you still have the horsepower needed for demanding 3D work. For a solo developer, this can reduce hardware costs by utilizing one beefy machine remotely instead of multiple high-end PCs.
  
  
• Game & Animation Studios: Enable team members to work from home or anywhere in the world on the same Unreal projects. Artists and engineers can log into studio machines or and work collaboratively on them. This boosts collaboration without everyone needing identical local setups.
  
  
• Architects & Engineers: Run real-time architectural visualizations or engineering simulations in Unreal Engine on a remote GPU workstation, and stream the output to your device in the field or at a client meeting. This way, you can present interactive 3D models without bringing a heavy workstation on-site.
  
  
• Education & Training: Schools and universities can host Unreal Engine, allowing students to access the full toolset remotely. This ensures every student – even those with only a basic laptop – can learn Unreal Engine with high performance by accessing them remotely. 

In all these cases, using Unreal Engine remotely means freedom and flexibility. You can work from home, on the road, or collaborate across continents, all while leveraging high-end hardware that might be physically located elsewhere.

Challenges of Using Unreal Engine Over Distance

Before diving into how to achieve a smooth remote Unreal experience, it’s important to understand the challenges:

• Heavy Performance Requirements: Unreal Engine is resource-intensive, especially for complex scenes or VR/AR content. It heavily utilizes the GPU for rendering. A  lot of remote desktop tools struggle (like standard Windows RDP) to support power users' needs, which results in poor performance. In other words, if the host machine’s GPU power isn’t accessible to the remote session, Unreal will be laggy and almost unusable.
  
  
• Latency and Bandwidth: To use Unreal remotely effectively, you need ultra-low latency streaming that makes it feel like you’re sitting in front of the machine. This typically requires a remote desktop technology optimized for it. With the right setup, it’s possible to get 4K resolution at 60 FPS and still maintain seamless interactivity.
  
  
• Image Quality and Resolution: Unreal artists often work with detailed, visually rich scenes – you don’t want compression artifacts or low resolution hampering your view. A good remote solution should support high resolutions (1080p, 4K) and high color fidelity (4:4:4).
  
  
• Peripheral and Tool Support: Game development and 3D content creation involve more than just a keyboard and mouse. You might be using a Wacom tablet for digital sculpting or texture painting, a 3D mouse for navigation. Not all remote desktop tools handle these peripherals well. For a smooth Unreal remote workflow, your solution should transmit things like pen pressure from a graphics tablet, support multiple monitors, audio I/O, and possibly USB device redirection. Lacking this, remote work can feel crippled (imagine not being able to use your stylus!).
  
  
• Security and Access Control: When accessing a remote machine that houses proprietary game assets, source code, or confidential designs, security is paramount. Traditional methods like VPNs might expose the network or prove too slow for heavy graphics. The challenge is to allow remote Unreal Engine use securely – meaning encrypted streams, strong authentication, and no broader network vulnerabilities – all while keeping performance high.

Despite these challenges, the good news is that solutions exist today to overcome them. Reemo is one of them and you can try it right now. Next, we’ll look at how to set up and use Unreal Engine remotely, and what technologies can help achieve a local-like experience from afar.

How to Set Up Unreal Engine for Remote Use

Using Unreal Engine remotely typically involves the following steps and considerations:

1. Prepare a Powerful Host Machine: This could be your office workstation or even a cloud-based GPU instance. The host needs to have Unreal Engine installed and updated, along with all the project files or assets you’ll need. Make sure this machine has a capable GPU (NVIDIA or AMD with the latest drivers) because, as noted, GPU acceleration is critical for performance.
   
   
2. Install a Remote Access Tool: Next, set up a remote desktop solution on the host. There are many options on the market. The key is to choose one that prioritizes low latency and high-quality video. Reemo, for instance, is a remote desktop platform specifically tuned for graphics-intensive applications and creative workflows. It is used by very demanding production studios for their productions on Unreal Engine.  On the host machine, you would install the Reemo agent . Use it for 4K/60fps streaming and access Unreal Engine seamlessly through your web browser!
   
   
3. Network and Bandwidth Check: For a smooth experience, a stable internet connection is essential on both the host and the client side. Use a solution such as Reemo who does not need VPN connection to be used.
   
   
4. Client Device Setup: On your local device (laptop, tablet, etc.), you’ll run the remote desktop client. In many modern solutions, you can simply use a web browser without installing heavy software. For example, Reemo allows you to launch a remote session through any modern browser with no installation on the accessing computer.
   
   
5. Configure Remote Session for Unreal: Once you’re connected and see the host desktop, you can launch Unreal Engine just as if you were sitting at that machine. There are a few settings to optimize:
   
   
   • If your remote app has quality settings (codec, bitrate, etc.), experiment with those. For instance, some systems let you choose between H.264 and H.265 – one might perform better than the other depending on your GPU and network.
     
     
   • Make sure your input devices are recognized. Test that your stylus or tablet input is working if you use one. If you need to calibrate color or monitor settings (especially if doing color-sensitive work on Unreal), you might need to do that through the remote session as well.

Following these steps sets up the basic capability to run Unreal Engine remotely. Essentially, you’re running Unreal on a strong machine and streaming the interface to wherever you are. The next section will focus on choosing the right solution – because not all remote desktops are created equal, especially when it comes to something as demanding as Unreal Engine.

Choosing the Right Remote Desktop Solution

To use Unreal Engine remotely without compromise, you need a remote desktop tool that checks a few key boxes: high performance, cross-platform access, peripheral support, and robust security. Let’s break down what to look for, and highlight how Reemo’s remote desktop aligns with these needs:

• Performance (Low Latency, High Framerate): The solution must deliver an ultra-responsive experience. Look for claims of low latency (sub-50ms if possible) and support for high resolution/framerate. For instance, Reemo delivers 4K streaming at 60 FPS with ultra-low latency, even when working with complex Unreal Engine scenes. This level of performance lets you navigate and edit in Unreal as if you were on a local machine – no perceptible lag in camera movements or editor UI updates. The bottom line: real-time responsiveness is non-negotiable for game development tasks.
  
  
• Cross-Platform Access: You might use Windows for Unreal Engine, but you could be connecting from a different OS or device. Good remote desktop solutions are platform-agnostic. Reemo, for example, can be run from any modern web browser without installing a client, whether you’re on Windows, Mac or Linux. This means a level designer could launch a quick edit from their MacBook at home, or an instructor could demonstrate something in Unreal from a thin client or a tablet in a classroom. Flexibility here is key and it shouldn’t matter what OS your endpoint is, you should still get a great experience.
  
  
• Advanced Peripheral & Input Support: As mentioned, creative professionals often use specialized gear. Graphic tablets with pressure sensitivity,mice, game controllers – these should ideally work through the remote session. Reemo has focused on this, offering full support for Wacom tablets (including pressure), as well as webcams, microphones, and other USB peripherals. Not all generic remote tools will do this, so it’s a big differentiator for ones tailored to media and entertainment.
  
  
• Enterprise-Grade Security: When you’re opening remote access to a machine, security can’t be an afterthought – especially for studios working with proprietary IP or architects handling confidential plans. The ideal solution will use end-to-end encryption, have strong authentication (multi-factor, identity management), and keep the remote session isolated from the wider network. Reemo adopts a zero-trust model, meaning even if you’re remoting into a PC on a corporate network, it doesn’t expose that network in the way a VPN might. Additionally, detailed session logs and permission controls are important for companies to monitor usage.

By choosing a solution that excels in these areas, you set yourself up for success. Reemo is one example that was built with game developers, VFX artists, and other power users in mind, which is why it hits all the points above.

Pushing the Envelope: Unreal Engine in the Cloud and Containers

So far, we’ve discussed running Unreal Engine on a remote machine and streaming it to your device. Another exciting development is using containerization and cloud orchestration for Unreal Engine – effectively running the engine in a containerized environment that can be spun up on demand in the cloud. While this is a bit more advanced, it’s worth mentioning where things are heading (and it could be relevant for studios or schools wanting scalable solutions).

Containerizing Unreal Engine means packaging the entire Unreal Engine application (and all its dependencies, plugins, etc.) into a lightweight, portable container image (using technologies like Docker or Kubernetes). Reemo has been at the forefront of exploring Unreal Engine containerization. In fact, at SIGGRAPH 2024, the team showed how containerization can revolutionize app development for engines like Unreal.

The takeaway is that combining Reemo’s streaming tech with containerization allows creative studios to run Unreal Engine in the cloud with unparalleled flexibility. Imagine clicking a button to launch a fully configured Unreal Engine instance in the cloud, collaborating in real-time, and then shutting it down when done – that’s the kind of fluid future these technologies promise.

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If you’re an Unreal Engine user wanting to go remote: rest assured it’s absolutely feasible. Set up a robust remote desktop pipeline, follow best practices (enable that GPU, optimize your network), and give it a try. Whether you’re a developer checking your level design from a remote place, an artist iterating on VFX from your home or a class of students diving into Unreal from a laptop, remote access can empower you to create without being chained to a single workstation. 

Bonus: If you’re curious about the container approach or want to push the envelope further, don’t forget to read our article on Unreal Engine containerization for a deeper dive. The combination of remote desktop technology with cloud containers might just be the recipe for the next generation of virtual game studios. Happy remoting, and happy developing!