Epic Games gave developers access to Unreal Engine 5, the next generation of its tool for creating 3D games. It offers “a collection of groundbreaking features for rendering real-time worlds in incredible high-fidelity detail.”
The new version of this software-development environment released Tuesday replaces Unreal Engine 4, which has been around since 2014. It’s used in many Mac, iPhone and/or iPad games, including Injustice 2 and Darkness Rises.
The capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 are unreal
Many developers of advanced, 3D games don’t create them from scratch. They use tools like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to give themselves a head start on the visuals.
A highlight of the new release is Nanite, which gives developers the ability to create games with massive amounts of geometric detail. And there’s Lumen — a new lighting solution that create believable scenes. With it, indirect lighting adapts on the fly to changes to direct lighting. And there is a new tool for realistic shadows.
A video demo shows what’s possible with Unreal Engine 5:
One of the goals of Unreal Engine 5 is simplifying creating open worlds. A new World Partition system divides up worlds behind the scenes, making them easier to work with. And groups of developers can now work on the same region of the same World without problems.
Patience required
The development of sophisticated games isn’t quick of easy. The first games with Unreal Engine 5 might not be out until 2023. But developers are into it, like today’s announcement of a new Tomb Raider game.
Crystal Dynamics is incredibly excited about the future of Unreal and how it will help us take our storytelling to the next level. That's why we're proud to announce that our next #tombraider game is being built on Unreal Engine 5! pic.twitter.com/UFMiWzJAZc
— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) April 5, 2022
While Epic Games and Apple are locked in ongoing court battles, gamers don’t need to be concerned that will prevent this development environment from being used in Mac, iPhone and iPad games. Apple was able to block Epic Games from the App Store, but has been forbidden to interfere with Unreal Engine.
Even so, many Apple users will need to access next-generation games through cloud-gaming services, like Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Source: Epic Games
