It is. I've done my fair share of game programming and it is certainly a step ahead for both beginners and experienced game developers. It's a great ecosystem a

It is. I've done my fair share of game programming and it is certainly a step ahead for both beginners and experienced game developers. It's a great ecosystem and compiles to lots of targets. Open source frameworks don't even come close in terms of features, support and target platforms. For 3D games UDK is perhaps a contestant, but I found it quite contrived for most games and a bit hackish for non-FPS genres. My focus is on game engines, but if you're into game mechanics and just want to make a game and stop worrying about boilerplate, it's pretty much the way to go.