Unreal Engine 5 Explained

Unreal Engine 5
Logo Size:138px
Author:Tim Sweeney
Developer:Epic Games
Latest Release Version:5.5
Programming Language:C++
Operating System:Windows, Linux, macOS
License:Source-available commercial software with royalty model for commercial use[1]

Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) is the latest version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. It was revealed in May 2020 and officially released in April 2022. Unreal Engine 5 includes multiple upgrades and new features, including Nanite, a system that automatically adjusts the level of detail of meshes, and Lumen, a dynamic global illumination and reflections system that leverages software as well as hardware accelerated ray tracing. The source code for Unreal Engine 5 is available on GitHub.[2]

History

Unreal Engine 5 was revealed on May 13, 2020, supporting all existing systems that could run Unreal Engine 4, including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.[3] It was released in early access on May 26, 2021,[4] and formally launched for developers on April 5, 2022.[5]

Epic Games worked closely with Sony to optimize Unreal Engine 5 for the PlayStation 5.[6] To demonstrate the ease of use of the engine, both companies collaborated on a demo called "Lumen in the Land of Nanite" for the PlayStation 5 which featured a photorealistic cave setting that could be explored by players. The demo was showcased during the May 2020 reveal of the engine, and leveraged Nanite, Lumen, and assets from the Quixel library.[7] [8] Epic also affirmed that the Xbox Series X/S would fully support Unreal Engine 5.[9]

Epic developed The Matrix Awakens, a promotional game demo for the 2021 movie The Matrix Resurrections, to showcase Unreal Engine 5 and other technology (such as MetaHuman Creator).[10] Epic has used its game Fortnite as a testbed for Unreal Engine 5.[7] [11] [12] The game was updated to use Unreal Engine 5 in December 2021.[13] Fortnites Battle Royale mode received visual improvements when it was upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.1 with the launch of Chapter 4 on December 4, 2022.[14]

In March 2024, Epic Games launched Project Titan, a collaborative game jam to create a free open world sample project for Unreal Engine.[15]

Features

Nanite

A major feature of Unreal Engine 5 is Nanite, a virtualized geometry system that allows developers to use photogrammetry and other high-detail meshes in their games without significant performance impact. Traditionally, artists had to create multiple models for different levels of detail (LoDs) and generate normal maps for finer details. Nanite automatically manages LoDs by scaling models dynamically based on draw distance, screen resolution, and performance requirements.[16] [17] It utilizes a hierarchical structure, allowing different parts of a single mesh to render at varying levels of detail.[18] Nanite is compatible with many 3D model formats, including ZBrush sculpts and CAD models, enabling developers to directly import film-quality assets without manual optimization.[19] According to a talk given by Epic Games' Brian Karis at SIGGRAPH 2021, one of the significant innovations in Nanite is its ability to stitch edges between different LoDs seamlessly, ensuring that no cracks appear at boundaries. In its initial release, Nanite was only compatible with static meshes.

With the potential for tens of billions of polygons on-screen at 4K resolution, Unreal Engine 5 is designed to take advantage of the high-speed solid-state storage in next-generation hardware.[16] Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney emphasized that this storage speed allows developers to "bring in [a game's] geometry and display it despite it not all fitting in memory," eliminating traditional loading screens and enabling seamless transitions between varying levels of detail as objects move closer to the player.

Lumen

Lumen is a fully dynamic ray traced global illumination and reflections system that can react in real-time to scene and lighting changes.[20] [21] It eliminates the need for precomputed lightmaps for a given scene and enables automatic adjustments to light, reflections, and shadows.[16] Lumen supports both software and hardware ray tracing. The software ray tracing option, which uses Mesh Distance Fields, is optimized for a broad range of devices and enables fast ray intersections at the cost of lower fidelity. Hardware ray tracing offers higher accuracy and supports additional geometry types, including skinned meshes. Lumen also incorporates a Surface Cache system that reduces the computational overhead required to evaluate lighting. When Lumen is disabled, the engine defaults to Signed Distance Field Ambient Occlusion for a lower-fidelity lighting solution.[22]

Other features

Virtual Shadow Maps is another component added in Unreal Engine 5 described as "a new shadow mapping method used to deliver consistent, high-resolution shadowing that works with film-quality assets and large, dynamically lit open worlds".[23] Virtual Shadow Maps differs from the common shadow map implementation in its extremely high resolution, more detailed shadows, and the absence of shadow cascade and pop-in issues present in commonly used shadow mapping techniques.[24]

UE5 uses Niagara for fluid and particle dynamics and its own Chaos physics engine in place of PhysX.[7] [25]

Added in UE5.2, the engine introduced a new material creation system named Substrate, offering more versatile and modular authoring of materials.[26] [27]

Additional features planned for Unreal Engine 5 come from Epic's acquisitions and partnerships. The Nanite virtualized geometry technology allows Epic to take advantage of its past acquisition of Quixel, the world's largest photogrammetry library as of 2019.[7] The MetaHuman Creator is a project based on technology from three companies acquired by Epic—3Lateral, Cubic Motion, and Quixel—to allow developers to quickly create realistic human characters that can then be exported for use within Unreal.[28] Through partnership with Cesium, Epic plans to offer a free plugin to provide 3D geospatial data for Unreal users, allowing them to recreate any part of the mapped surface of Earth.[29] Epic will include RealityCapture, a product it acquired with its acquisition of Capturing Reality that can generate 3D models of any object from a collection of photographs taken of it from multiple angles,[30] and the various middleware tools offered by Epic Games Tools.[31]

From UE 5.5 onwards, Epic Games introduced a layer that makes it easier to maintain WebRTC internally, allowing Pixel Streaming 2 plugin to began shipping with Unreal Engine. [32]

Licensing

Unreal Engine 5 retains the royalty model started with Unreal Engine 4, with developers returning 5% of gross revenues to Epic Games, although this fee is waived for sales made through the Epic Games Store (EGS).[33] Further, Epic announced alongside Unreal Engine 5 that they will not take any fee from games using any version of Unreal Engine for the first in gross revenue, retroactive to January 1, 2020.[34] In October 2024, Epic lowered royalties to 3.5% on sales of games outside EGS if they list the game on EGS as well.[35]

Epic unveiled per-seat licensing of the Unreal Engine, starting in April 2024, for its runtime use with non-gaming applications such as in film and television production if their revenues exceed $1 million, with each seat costing $1850/year.[36] [37]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Unreal Engine End User License Agreement. https://web.archive.org/web/20180826113400/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula . Unreal Engine . en-US . 2018-08-26 . August 26, 2018 . live.
  2. Web site: Unreal Engine on GitHub . Unreal Engine . en-US.
  3. Web site: Statt . Nick . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with stunning PlayStation 5 demo . The Verge . en-US . December 11, 2020 . March 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220321172743/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21256079/epic-unreal-engine-5-playstation-5-demo-next-gen-graphics-release-date . live.
  4. Web site: Makuch . Eddie . May 26, 2021 . Unreal Engine 5 Gets Stunning Demo With Incredible Graphics, Enters Early Access . GameSpot . en-US . May 26, 2021 . December 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211228141729/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/unreal-engine-5-gets-stunning-demo-with-incredible-graphics-enters-early-access/1100-6491998/ . live.
  5. Web site: Sinclair . Brendan . April 6, 2022 . Epic launches Unreal Engine 5 . . en-US . April 5, 2022 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407222433/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-04-05-epic-launches-unreal-engine-5 . live.
  6. Web site: Statt . Nick . May 13, 2020 . Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the PS5 is so impressive it's 'going to help drive future PCs' . The Verge . en-US . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513152805/https://www.theverge.com/21256299/epic-ceo-tim-sweeney-sony-ps5-ssd-impressive-pc-gaming-future-next-gen . live.
  7. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games: Unreal Engine 5 will bring a generational change to graphics . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005133553/https://venturebeat.com/business/how-epic-games-is-tailoring-unreal-engine-5-to-make-next-gen-graphics-shine/view-all/ . October 5, 2022 . Venture Beat . en-US . May 13, 2020.
  8. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games shows off a stunning Unreal Engine 5 demo on PlayStation 5 . Venture Beat . en-US . May 13, 2020 . May 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200518175421/https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/13/epic-games-shows-off-a-stunning-unreal-engine-5-demo-on-playstation-5/ . live.
  9. Web site: Maher . Cian . May 16, 2020 . Unreal Engine 5 will be "fully supported on both PS5 and Xbox Series X" . VG247 . May 16, 2020 . May 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200516221048/https://www.vg247.com/2020/05/16/unreal-engine-5-ps5-xbox-series-x/ . live .
  10. Web site: Egan . Toussaint . December 9, 2021 . The Matrix Awakens imagines the future of storytelling in Unreal Engine 5 . . en-US . December 9, 2021 . December 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211210040231/https://www.polygon.com/interviews/22827126/the-matrix-awakens-unreal-engine-5-ps5-xbox-series-x . live.
  11. Web site: Fortnite moves to Unreal Engine 5 next year . Bailey . Dustin . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . September 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200925173212/https://www.pcgamesn.com/fortnite/unreal-engine-5 . live .
  12. Web site: Battle-testing Unreal Engine 5.1's new features on Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 . unrealengine.com.
  13. Web site: Capel . Chris . December 5, 2021 . Fortnite has finally moved to Unreal Engine 5 with Chapter 3 . PCGamesN . en-US . December 5, 2021 . December 5, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211205182425/https://www.pcgamesn.com/fortnite/unreal-engine-5-chapter-3 . live.
  14. Web site: Welcome to Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 1 . . en-US . February 13, 2023 . February 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213234200/https://www.fortnite.com/news/welcome-to-fortnite-battle-royale-chapter-4-season-1 . live.
  15. Web site: Epic Games . Introducing the Project Titan collaborative art jam . live . March 5, 2024 . October 18, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240307203748/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/introducing-the-project-titan-collaborative-art-jam-register-today . March 7, 2024.
  16. Web site: Orland . Kyle . May 14, 2020 . How Epic got such amazing Unreal Engine 5 results on next-gen consoles . Ars Technica . en-US . May 14, 2020 . May 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200514194514/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/behind-the-scenes-of-that-incredible-unreal-engine-5-tech-demo/ . live .
  17. Web site: Tyler . Wilde . May 13, 2020 . Fast SSD storage is key to the Unreal Engine 5 demo's super detailed scenes . PC Gamer . en-US . October 18, 2024.
  18. Web site: Karis . Brian . Nanite; A Deep Dive SIGGRAPH 2021 Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Course . Realtime Rendering.
  19. Web site: Tarantola . Andrew . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games teases its new, nearly-photorealistic Unreal Engine 5 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513170508/https://www.engadget.com/epic-games-unreal-engine-5-demo-150044561.html . May 13, 2020 . . en-GB . May 13, 2020.
  20. Web site: Valentine . Rebekah . May 13, 2020 . Epic Games announces Unreal Engine 5 with first PS5 footage . . en-US . May 13, 2020 . May 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200520112019/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-13-epic-games-announces-unreal-engine-5-with-first-ps5-footage . live.
  21. Web site: McWhertor . Michael . May 13, 2020 . Here's Unreal Engine 5 running on the PlayStation 5 . . en-US . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513170511/https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/13/21256621/unreal-engine-5-ps5-demo-playstation-5-graphics-epic-games . live.
  22. Web site: Battaglia . Alex . October 28, 2023 . Brilliant visuals and growing pains: examining the first generation of Unreal Engine 5 games . Eurogamer . en-GB . October 18, 2024.
  23. Web site: Virtual Shadow Maps . Unreal Engine Docs . en-US . February 7, 2022 . February 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207063206/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.0/en-US/RenderingFeatures/VirtualShadowMaps/ . live .
  24. Web site: Dimitrov . Rouslan . Cascaded Shadow Maps . Nvidia Developer . en-US . February 7, 2022 . January 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220115200429/https://developer.download.nvidia.com/SDK/10.5/opengl/src/cascaded_shadow_maps/doc/cascaded_shadow_maps.pdf . live.
  25. Web site: Sergeev . Arti . Working with Niagara Fluids to Create Water Simulations . 80.lv . en . 26 July 2022.
  26. Web site: Unreal Engine 5.2 is now available! . Unreal Engine . May 11, 2023.
  27. Web site: McKenzie . Theodore . May 12, 2023 . Unreal Engine 5.2 Goes Live . 80.lv . en.
  28. Web site: Kerr . Chris . February 10, 2021 . Epic Games' new MetaHuman Creator will let devs everywhere build high fidelity humans . Game Developer . en-US . February 22, 2022 . February 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235117/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/epic-games-new-metahuman-creator-will-let-devs-build-hi-fi-humans . live .
  29. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . March 30, 2021 . Epic Games teams up with Cesium to bring 3D geospatial data to Unreal . Venture Beat . en-US . March 30, 2021 . March 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330150043/https://venturebeat.com/2021/03/30/epic-games-teams-up-with-cesium-to-bring-3d-geospatial-data-to-unreal/ . live .
  30. Web site: Kerr . Chris . March 9, 2021 . Epic Games acquires photogrammetry software developer Capturing Reality . Game Developer . en-US . February 22, 2022 . February 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235123/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-games-acquires-photogrammetry-software-developer-capturing-reality . live.
  31. Web site: Francis . Bryant . January 7, 2021 . Epic acquires RAD Game Tools . Game Developer . en-US . February 22, 2022 . January 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107203724/https://gamasutra.com/view/news/375979/Epic_acquires_RAD_Game_Tools.php . live .
  32. Web site: December 2, 2024 . PixelStreamingInfrastructure . Game Developer . en-US . February 22, 2022 . January 7, 2021 . live .
  33. Web site: Unreal Engine EULA . 2024-01-05 . Unreal Engine . en-US . January 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240105072417/https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula/unreal . live .
  34. Web site: Unreal Engine is now royalty-free until a game makes a whopping $1 million . Machkovech . Sam . May 13, 2020 . . May 13, 2020 . May 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200513191357/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/unreal-engine-is-now-royalty-free-until-a-game-makes-a-whopping-1-mill/ . live .
  35. Web site: Peters . Jay . Epic is trying to sweeten the deal to use Unreal Engine and the Epic Games Store . The Verge . en . 1 October 2024.
  36. Web site: Epic Games to update Unreal Engine pricing for devs outside game industry . Bryant . Francis . October 6, 2023 . October 6, 2023 . . October 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231005215147/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/epic-games-to-update-unreal-engine-pricing-for-devs-outside-game-industry . live .
  37. Web site: Epic confirms its new Unreal Engine pricing, keeps its promise not to change it for game developers . Chris . Scullion . March 12, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . . March 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240313023959/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/epic-confirms-its-new-unreal-engine-pricing-keeps-its-promise-not-to-change-it-for-game-developers/ . live .

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