Organize Unreal Projects Like AAA

Why folder organization matters

When building a big‑budget game, dozens of artists, designers, and programmers touch the same files.

If the project’s folder structure is a mess, you spend more time hunting for a texture, dealing with merge conflicts, and rebuilding the whole project just because a new asset was added in the wrong place.

A clean folder structure:

Makes it instant to find what you need.
Keeps version control lean no giant DerivedDataCache folders in the repo.
Lets you automate builds and tests with confidence.
Scales from a small indie team to a studio with 200+ people.

The “AAA‑ready” layout

Below is a layout that works for most AAA studios and is based on the real‑world examples from the SLAY project and Lyra Starter.

What each folder does

Folder	Why it matters	Typical examples
Content/	All the stuff the player sees	Meshes, textures, sounds, widgets
Source/	C++ code split into modules	GameCore, Gameplay, UI
Plugins/	Re‑usable extensions	PhysicsSim, GameplayFramework
Config/	Engine settings you control	DefaultEngine.ini, GameUserSettings.ini
Binaries/ … Saved/	Generated data that changes every build	DLLs, shader cache, autosaves

Quick tip: Never commit anything from Binaries, Intermediate, or DerivedDataCache they’re regenerated on every build.

Naming your assets (the “prefix” trick)

Unreal’s own style guide recommends a simple naming pattern:

<Prefix>_<BaseName>_<Variant>_<Suffix>

Part	What it means	Example
Prefix	Asset type (`SM_` for static mesh, `BP_` for blueprint, `UI_` for widgets)	`SM_WoodTable`
BaseName	Logical group	`EnemyOrc`
Variant	Different versions	`LongHair`, `ShortHair`
Suffix	Sub‑type (e.g. `_S` for specular)	`SM_WoodTable_S`

Rule: Always start with a prefix, no spaces, and keep the rest in camelCase or PascalCase.

Python prompt

If you’re tired of creating a new project from scratch every time, run this script once and you’ll get a perfectly‑structured skeleton in seconds.

spec.json – the recipe

Python Script

How it works for you

Create the spec that matches your game’s domain (characters, weapons, UI, etc.).
Run the script once you’ll get a full folder tree, Gitignore, and optional C++ placeholders.
Start adding assets in the correct folders.
Commit no unnecessary binaries or cache files will be in the repo.
Scale every new team member can clone the repo and instantly understand where to put their files.

Final thoughts

A clear folder structure saves hours of debugging.
Naming conventions make it easier for tools and pipelines to find what they need.
With the Python prompt, you only need to run a single command to get a clean, industry‑ready project.

Give it a try on your next Unreal project and watch the chaos disappear! 🚀

Folder

Why it matters

Typical examples

Content/

All the stuff the player sees

Meshes, textures, sounds, widgets

Source/

C++ code split into modules

GameCore, Gameplay, UI

Plugins/

Re‑usable extensions

PhysicsSim, GameplayFramework

Config/

Engine settings you control

DefaultEngine.ini, GameUserSettings.ini

Binaries/ … Saved/

Generated data that changes every build

DLLs, shader cache, autosaves

Part

What it means

Example

Prefix

Asset type (SM_ for static mesh, BP_ for blueprint, UI_ for widgets)

SM_WoodTable

BaseName

Logical group

EnemyOrc

Variant

Different versions

LongHair, ShortHair

Suffix

Sub‑type (e.g. _S for specular)

SM_WoodTable_S