Quick answer: Unreal ActorComponent tick stopped after world load or stream-in? Set bAutoActivate / bTickInEditor correctly and call SetComponentTickEnabled in BeginPlay.

A custom AI component ticks fine on a freshly placed actor, but actors loaded from a saved level have the component sleeping. Activation state didn’t restore.

Tick Enable in BeginPlay

void UAIComp::BeginPlay() {
    Super::BeginPlay();
    SetComponentTickEnabled(true);
}

Belt-and-suspenders: don’t rely on the editor checkbox surviving every save / load path.

bWantsInitializeComponent

If you need InitializeComponent to fire (preBeginPlay setup), set bWantsInitializeComponent = true in the constructor. Otherwise it won’t be called.

Activation vs Tick

Components have two states: Active and Tick Enabled. Activate() doesn’t imply ticking unless bTickIfActive is on. Manage both if your logic depends on Active.

Verifying

Save / reload the level: components resume ticking. PIE and packaged build behave identically.

“Don’t trust editor flags through save/load. Re-enable tick in BeginPlay.”

Hide tick behind a bTickEnabled UPROPERTY exposed in the inspector — designers can switch it without code, and your code reads one source of truth.