Optick is a free C++ profiler for analyzing game performance. Its tools include instrumentation, sampling, context-switch tracing, CPU profiling, frame-time analysis, and GPU counters. Developers can add it to application code with OPTICK_FRAME, OPTICK_EVENT, and OPTICK_THREAD macros. Context-switch tracing uses ETW on Windows, FTrace on Linux, and DTrace on macOS. GPU profiling supports D3D12 and Vulkan on Windows, and Vulkan on Linux and macOS. Listed desktop build configurations cover Windows x64 with MSVC, Linux x64 with Clang or GCC, and macOS x64 with Clang or GCC. Optick also provides plugins for Unreal Engine 4 and 5; v1.4.0 added support for Unreal Engine 5.0. Android support in the core is listed in the v1.3.0 release notes. Its configuration file can enable or disable features by platform or build, including disabling Optick in final builds. Each release packages a precompiled OptickCore.dll. For an executable using multiple DLLs, Optick must be included in a shared dynamic library compiled with OPTICK_EXPORT; static linking will not work. It is available under the MIT License, which provides no warranty.
Who it is for
Optick suits game developers who need performance analysis across supported desktop platforms or Android, and teams working with Unreal Engine 4 or 5. Its configuration and integration options are relevant to developers who want to control profiler features across builds.
What is good
- Free under the MIT License.
- Includes CPU profiling and frame-time analysis.
- GPU profiling supports D3D12 and Vulkan.
- Provides Unreal Engine 4 and 5 plugins.
- Can be disabled in final builds.
What to know first
- MIT license provides no warranty.
- Multiple-DLL applications require a shared dynamic library.
- Static linking does not work for multiple-DLL use.
Verdict
Optick combines several game-performance analysis tools with integrations for multiple platforms and Unreal Engine. Check its DLL requirement if your executable uses multiple DLLs.
Optick plans and pricing
All plansCompared on game profiling software
- Free plan
- Yes
- CPU profiling
- Yes
- GPU profiling
- Yes
- Frame-time analysis
- Yes
- Render API capture
- Yes
- Supported platforms
- Windows, Linux, macOS, Xbox, PS4, Android
