Package & Share · Beginner · 14 min
Package Your Game for Windows: Make a Real .exe, Step by Step
Turn your project into a standalone Windows build you can double-click and share — pick the menu, choose an output folder, understand the files Unreal produces, and run the .exe with no editor required.
Before this: What "Cooking" and "Packaging" Actually Mean in Unreal Engine 5, Press Play and Test Your Level for the First Time
- Install the platform/SDK prerequisites Windows packaging needs
- Package your project for Windows from the Platforms menu
- Recognise the files Unreal produces and find the .exe
- Run your packaged game with no editor and share the folder
From 'Play in editor' to a real, shareable game
So far you've tested your game by pressing Play inside the editor. That's great for building, but you can't email the editor to a friend. To share your game — upload it, hand it to a tester, or just keep a copy that runs on its own — you need to package it. Packaging takes your whole project and turns it into a self-contained folder with a real .exe inside that anyone can double-click. No Unreal install required on their machine.
It sounds intimidating, but the first time you do it the actual clicks are few: open one menu, pick Windows, choose where to save, and wait. The bulk of this lesson is making sure you do it once cleanly and understand what the files mean — so when something goes wrong (and a long build log is normal), you know what you're looking at.
Before you package
Tick these off — a couple of them are the usual reasons a first package fails:
- Your project opens and plays correctly in the editor (fix gameplay bugs before packaging, not after)
- You've saved everything (File menu, or Ctrl+S in the editor)
- Visual Studio with the C++ tools / Windows SDK is installed — even Blueprint-only projects need these to package for Windows
- Several gigabytes of free disk space for the output folder
- A few minutes of patience — the first build is the slowest because it compiles shaders and code from scratch
The one prerequisite everyone trips on
Even if your game is 100% Blueprints and you've never written a line of C++, packaging for Windows still needs the Windows build tools installed: Visual Studio (the free Community edition is fine) with the 'Game development with C++' workload, which includes the matching Windows SDK. Unreal uses these tools behind the scenes to turn your project into a native Windows program.
If those tools are missing, packaging stops early with a message about a missing compiler or SDK rather than producing a game. So get that install done first — it's a one-time setup, not something you repeat every build.
Package for Windows, step by step
Do these in order from your open project. Each row stays ticked if you step away and come back.
- 1Open the Platforms menu
In the main level editor toolbar (top of the window), find the 'Platforms' button. Click it to open the platforms menu — this is where every target you can build for lives.
In some 5.x layouts this is the little dropdown that used to be labelled 'Launch' / the platform icon. If you can't spot 'Platforms', use the alternative in the tip below.
TipCan't find it on the toolbar? The same packaging command also lives under the main menu: look for an option to package the project for Windows. Either route runs the identical build.
- 2Choose Windows
In the Platforms menu, hover or click 'Windows'. You'll see a submenu with options for that platform.
If this is your first time and a platform shows a warning icon, it usually means the SDK/tools for it aren't installed yet — that's the prerequisite from earlier.
TipThere may be a 'Binary Configuration' choice (Development vs Shipping). For your first package, leave it on Development — it builds faster and prints more useful messages if something breaks.
- 3Click 'Package Project'
Under Windows, choose 'Package Project'. This is the command that cooks your content and builds the standalone game.
Cooking means converting your assets into the optimised form the packaged game ships with — you learned the idea in the cooking-and-packaging primer; here you're watching it happen for real.
TipIf a dialog asks which maps to include or warns that no map is set as the default, the safe fix is to set your starting level as the project's default map in Project Settings (Maps & Modes) before packaging.
- 4Pick an output folder
A folder picker appears asking where to save the build. Choose an EMPTY folder you can find again — for example a new folder on your Desktop called 'MyGame-Windows'. Unreal fills it with the packaged game.
Don't pick your project's own folder or your Desktop root — give the build its own clean home so the output is easy to find, zip, and delete later.
TipMake the folder first (right-click > New Folder) and select it. A clean, empty target folder avoids mixing the build in with unrelated files.
- 5Wait for the build (watch the log)
Packaging now runs. A small notification appears in the bottom-right and a build log fills with text. The FIRST package is slow — it compiles shaders and code from scratch. Later packages are much faster because the work is cached.
Let it finish. When it succeeds you'll get a green 'Packaging complete' notification; if it fails you'll get a red one with a link to the log.
TipClick 'Show Output Log' (or open the Output Log window) to watch progress live. If it fails, scroll up from the bottom to the FIRST red 'Error:' line — that's the real cause; everything after it is usually fallout.
- 6Open the folder and run the .exe
When it's done, open your output folder. Inside you'll find a 'Windows' folder containing your game's files and a launcher .exe named after your project.
Double-click that .exe. Your game runs as a standalone window — no editor, just like a player would see it. Congratulations: that folder is your shippable build.
TipWindows SmartScreen may warn about an 'unrecognised app' because the .exe isn't code-signed. For your own and testers' machines you can click 'More info' > 'Run anyway'. Code signing is a later, optional step.
What's in the folder Unreal made
Open the output and you'll typically see a 'Windows' subfolder. Inside is a launcher .exe with your project's name — that's the one you double-click. Next to it sits an 'Engine' folder and a folder named after your project; together they hold the cooked content, the actual game binaries, and the runtime files the game needs.
The whole 'Windows' folder is your game. To share it, you zip that entire folder — not just the .exe. The .exe on its own won't run without the sibling folders, so always keep them together.
Packaging words to lock in
Tap a card to flip it
You zip up just the .exe, send it to a friend, and on their PC it won't start (or instantly closes). Why — and what should you have sent?
The .exe is only a small launcher. The actual game lives in the sibling folders next to it (the Engine folder and your project folder) which hold the cooked content and runtime files. Pull the .exe out on its own and there's nothing for it to run.
Send the WHOLE packaged 'Windows' folder — zip the entire folder and have them extract it and run the .exe from inside. Everything it needs is in there, which is the whole point of a standalone build.
Two ways to start a Windows package
The fastest route for a one-off build: Platforms > Windows > Package Project, pick a folder, done. It uses your current project settings and is perfect while you're iterating and just want a quick standalone copy.
This is the one to learn first — fewest clicks, no extra windows.
For repeatable builds with saved options, open the Project Launcher (under the Tools / Platforms area). You create a custom profile where you set the platform, build configuration, which maps to cook, and more, then run it with one click.
Overkill for your first package, but handy once you're regularly producing builds and want consistent settings every time.
QuizCheck yourself
1Your game is 100% Blueprints. What do you still need installed to package it for Windows?
Packaging always builds native Windows executables, so the C++ toolchain and Windows SDK must be present even for pure-Blueprint projects.
2Packaging finished and you want to share the game. What do you send?
The .exe is just a launcher; it needs the sibling Engine and project folders. Zip and share the whole packaged folder.
3The package failed and the log is hundreds of lines long. What's the smartest first move?
Later errors are often fallout from the first one. Find the earliest 'Error:' line and fix that; the rest frequently clear up on their own.
Quick checks while testing the packaged build
stat fps ; show frames-per-second
stat unit ; show frame, game and GPU timings
quit ; cleanly close the packaged gamePackage your current project for Windows into a brand-new folder, then prove it's truly standalone: fully close the Unreal editor, go to the output folder, run the .exe, and play a few seconds. Finally, zip the whole 'Windows' folder ready to share.
Hint 1
Save first (Ctrl+S), then Platforms > Windows > Package Project.
Hint 2
Pick or make an empty folder you'll remember — e.g. Desktop > MyGame-Windows.
Hint 3
Close the editor entirely before running the .exe — that's how you confirm it doesn't depend on Unreal being open.
Hint 4
To zip: right-click the 'Windows' folder (the whole folder, not the .exe) > Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
Save the project, then Platforms > Windows > Package Project and select a new empty folder. Wait for the green 'Packaging complete' notification.
Close Unreal Engine completely. Open your output folder, go into the 'Windows' subfolder, and double-click the .exe named after your project. It launches with no editor — that proves it's standalone.
Back in the output folder, right-click the whole 'Windows' folder and compress it to a .zip. That single zip is now shareable; the recipient extracts it and runs the .exe from inside.
Handy keys for this lesson
- Ctrl S Save the current level before packaging
- Ctrl Shift S Save all (level + assets) so nothing unsaved is left out of the cook
- ` Open the console inside the running packaged game (then type stat fps, quit, etc.)
- Alt F4 Close the running packaged game window
Mark this lesson complete
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Questions beginners ask
Why does packaging take so long the first time?
The first package compiles all your shaders and code from scratch and cooks every asset. That's a lot of one-time work. Unreal caches the results, so as long as you don't clear the intermediate/cache folders, later packages of the same project finish much faster.
Do I need to write any C++ to package for Windows?
No. You can package a 100% Blueprint project. You do, however, need Microsoft's build tools installed — Visual Studio Community with the 'Game development with C++' workload (which includes the Windows SDK) — because packaging produces native Windows executables under the hood.
Windows says the .exe is from an 'unrecognised app' or might be unsafe. Is my build broken?
No. That's Windows SmartScreen warning because the .exe isn't code-signed, which is normal for an indie build. On your own or a tester's machine you can click 'More info' then 'Run anyway'. Code signing is an optional, more advanced step for wider distribution.
Should I package as Development or Shipping?
Use Development for your first builds and while testing — it builds faster and reports more useful information if something goes wrong. Switch to Shipping for the leaner, debug-free build you'd actually hand to players once everything works.