UActorComponent::BeginPlay

function Engine Since 4.0

#include "Components/ActorComponent.h"

Access: public Specifiers: virtual

Description

Called when gameplay begins for this component, either when the owning actor begins play or immediately after the component is created if the actor has already begun play. Requires the component to be registered and initialized.

Caveats & Gotchas

• Always call Super::BeginPlay() — the base implementation sets bHasBegunPlay and fires ReceiveBeginPlay (the Blueprint event). Omitting Super means Blueprint overrides will never execute.
• BeginPlay fires per-component, not just per-actor. If you add a component dynamically to an actor that has already begun play, BeginPlay is called immediately on attachment.

Signature

ENGINE_API virtual void BeginPlay()

Return Type

void

Example

Standard component BeginPlay override C++

void UMyComponent::BeginPlay()
{
    Super::BeginPlay(); // Must call Super — sets bHasBegunPlay and fires Blueprint event
    // Subscribe to events or start timers here
    GetWorld()->GetTimerManager().SetTimer(MyTimerHandle, this, &UMyComponent::OnTimer, 1.0f, true);
}

Version History

Introduced in: 4.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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