IjJust got back from the whirlwind of Unreal Fest Orlando, and my brain is still buzzing with all the incredible tech and exciting announcements that dropped at the State of Unreal! Let me tell you, if you weren’t there, you missed out on a serious peek into the future of game development and digital creation.
The energy in the room was electric from the moment the lights dimmed. We knew something big was coming, and Epic Games definitely delivered.
The Witcher 4 in Unreal Engine 5?! My Jaw is Still on the Floor!
The show kicked off with a bang – a technical demo in collaboration with the legendary CD PROJEKT RED! Now, hold your horses, it wasn’t the actual Witcher 4 gameplay (though my inner fanboy did a little jig). Instead, we got a stunning showcase of the cutting-edge tech powering the new Witcher saga, all built in Unreal Engine 5.
The level of detail was insane! Lush environments, incredibly realistic characters – it was a true testament to the power of UE5. And speaking of UE5…
Unreal Engine 5.6: Powering Up for Massive Open Worlds
We got the lowdown on Unreal Engine 5.6, and it’s packed with performance upgrades that are going to empower developers to build truly massive and seamless open worlds. Just like that Witcher demo, UE5.6 aims to make these sprawling experiences run buttery smooth on current-gen hardware. Say goodbye to those pesky loading screens and hello to truly immersive worlds!
One of the coolest reveals was the progress towards an engine-first animation and rigging workflow. Imagine a world without endless back-and-forth between different software! Plus, the ability to author MetaHumans directly within the engine? That’s a game-changer for streamlining character creation. You can dive into all the nitty-gritty details in their Unreal Engine 5.6 blog post.
MetaHuman 5.6: Digital Humans Evolving!
The already impressive MetaHuman framework is officially out of Early Access with the arrival of MetaHuman 5.6! This is a huge step, making their incredibly realistic digital humans even more accessible.
But the best part? They’ve updated the Unreal Engine EULA so MetaHuman characters and animation can now be used in ANY engine (Unity, Godot, you name it!) and even creative software like Maya, Houdini, and Blender. Get ready to see MetaHumans popping up everywhere!
MetaHuman Creator has also received a massive upgrade with enhanced fidelity, a larger scan database, and improved models. The customization options are about to explode! And let’s not forget MetaHuman Animator, which lets you generate real-time animation from almost any camera or audio. The future of digital humans is looking incredibly bright (and realistic!). More details are in the dedicated MetaHuman blog post.
Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN): LEGO, Squid Game, AI NPCs, and Beyond!
The UEFN segment was mind-blowing! Over 11.2 BILLION hours spent by players across 260,000+ creator-made islands, resulting in a whopping $722M paid out to third-party creators – those numbers speak for themselves! UEFN is a powerhouse, and it’s only getting bigger and better.
Get ready for some serious fun because starting June 17th, creators will be able to build LEGO® experiences brick-by-brick using the new LEGO Brick Editor! Yes, you read that right!
And the IP train doesn’t stop there! Prepare yourselves for Squid Game (launching June 27th!), followed by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Star Wars IP coming to UEFN! The creative possibilities are absolutely limitless.
Remember the Darth Vader NPC in the latest Fortnite season that used conversational AI? Well, Epic is bringing that underlying tech to the creator community! Later this year, new tools will allow you to build your own engaging AI-powered NPCs in UEFN. The Persona Device will let you create characters with unique personalities that players can actually talk to. And it’s not just about dialogue – creators will be able to use AI to drive NPC behavior and even the core game itself!
Finally, Scene Graph beta launches on June 7th. This new foundational layer for UEFN unifies the editor and runtime views, making all scene elements accessible through Verse. It promises faster and more flexible world-building, easier management of repeated items (turning them into prefabs!), and the ability for Verse code to dynamically modify the scene at runtime. This is a game-changer for the future of UEFN!
Across the Epic Ecosystem: RealityScan and Fab Get Supercharged!
The exciting news didn’t stop with Unreal Engine and UEFN. RealityScan 2.0 is launching soon, unifying the desktop and mobile versions under one name. It’s packed with new features like AI-powered masking, smarter image alignment, and support for airborne laser scans. Fun fact: CD PROJEKT RED used RealityScan to capture those stunning natural objects in The Witcher 4 tech demo!
And for all you content creators out there, Fab will be available in the Epic Games launcher this summer! This will make it easier than ever to access and integrate Fab content into your workflows. Plus, with the recent acquisition of Loci, their AI technologies will be integrated into Fab, bringing automated asset tagging, semantic search, and improved IP moderation.
Unreal Fest Orlando: A Glimpse into an Amazing Future
Unreal Fest Orlando was an absolute blast! The energy, the announcements, the sheer innovation on display – it was truly inspiring. We got a fantastic look at the cutting-edge technologies that are empowering creators to build the experiences of tomorrow. From breathtaking game worlds to incredibly realistic digital humans and the ever-evolving landscape of UEFN, the future of digital creation is looking incredibly exciting.
