About two years after it was first announced, Epic Games released its next-generation game engine. Today, as part of its State of Unreal event, the company announced that Unreal Engine 5 is now available for download.
The updated engine includes a number of improvements for developers, including improved performance and an upgraded UI, but the most significant changes come from a handful of technologies designed for more photorealistic visuals. These include Lumen, a "fully dynamic global lighting solution" for more realistic lighting, and Nanite, which Epic says "give you the ability to create games and experiences with an enormous amount of geometric detail." There are also more practical tools, such as the ability to separate parts of an open world, to make it easier for teams to work independently in spaces. Altogether, these tools are expected to make it easy to make high-quality large-scale games; CD Projekt Red has already confirmed that it's using the tool to create the next Witcher.
While this is the first time the engine has been widely used for game developers, several major UE5 projects have already been made available to the public through Epic itself. Last December, Fortnite moved on to Unreal 5, and at the same time, Epic released The Matrix Awakens, an impressive tech demo that combines the likes of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss with a massive open world filled with the developer's Metahuman characters.
As part of today's launch of UE5, Epic is also preparing an example of The Matrix Awakens' city of Hollywood stars that game developers can build on. “I think we're going to see some pretty cool stuff,” says Epic Games CTO Kim Libreri. Epic is also releasing a sample multiplayer shooter called Lyra built into UE5, which is very similar to Unreal Tournament and that it says could be a "hands-on learning resource" for game developers.
Outside of gaming, engines like Unreal have become increasingly popular for other applications, particularly film and television. For example, The Mandalorian used Unreal for their virtual sets. With tools like the UE5 and next-gen gaming hardware, Libreri believes we'll see more of these kinds of transitions between environments.
