Unreal Engine 5 Revealed With PS5 Tech Demo

The world of gaming is about to get a lot more stunning. Introducing Unreal Engine 5, the latest update to the critically acclaimed game engine. And with it comes a wave of astounding graphical improvements.

The new version was revealed early today by creators Epic Games during a PlayStation 5 tech demo. In the reveal video, we see a number of new and improved features designed to make a better gaming experience.



There's the expected collection of improvements: better water physics, improved sound, etc. But there are also two new advancements that have our attention. They're called Nanite and Lumen.

Nanite's main focus is on graphical quality. The technology optimizes the virtual geometry in a scene with the source art. This allows for nearly real-life levels of art quality without having to sacrifice overall 3D performance.

Lumen, on the other hand, handles dynamic lighting. Having realistic lighting is one of the hardest things to accomplish in 3D environments. Lumen helps improve how effectively the game engine can handle dynamic changes in a lighting scenario, like a moving sun, or new openings being made, allowing for new light sources to form.

Unreal Engine 5 is also being developed with the hardware of current and next-gen consoles in mind. Thanks to the coordination of console makers, players can expect the engine to run even better on these systems.

Unreal Engine 5 will release in late 2021, with preview builds releasing earlier in the year. Projects built in Unreal Engine 4 will be compatible with the update and can be imported once it becomes available.