In this post we will briefly detail the main novelties exhibited at the State of Unreal 2023, which took place on March 22nd.
The Power of Unreal Engine 5.2
Let’s start with the creation of photorealistic worlds.
With a technical demonstration (Electric Dreams), the impressive ability of Unreal Engine 5.2 to create amazing natural environments with a lighting and reflection tracing system was showcased. In addition, the engine’s new procedural features allow the scene to adapt organically and in real-time when any modifications are made to the vegetation.
Video reference: IGN YouTube Channel
Let’s continue this tour of tools for developers, with
MetaHuman animations
Hand in hand with Ninja Theory, we were able to see a real-time facial animation made only with an iPhone camera. The new update, which will be launched this summer under the name Animator, will further improve the ability to create realistic and convincing characters.
Video reference: IGN YouTube Channel
Unreal Editor for Fortnite
Similarly, Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) was revealed in more detail, which will allow designing, developing, and publishing content for Fortnite, creating truly unique experiences, even departing from the game’s original aesthetic. UEFN will run in parallel and joins the set of Fortnite Creative tools.
Additionally, Epic has made available to creators a monetization system through which they can earn money from visits to their creative inventions.
Video reference: IGN YouTube Channel
Verse
In relation to UEFN, Verse was unveiled, a programming language that in principle will work to give customization and game logic capabilities to Fornite. It is currently available together with the public Beta of UEFN, but it is a simple approach to its API, since it is expected to be compatible with Unreal Engine in the future, which would allow anyone to use it to meet their needs or interact easily with its ecosystem.
Image reference: unrealengine.com
Fab
We will close this set of novelties with FAB, a unified Marketplace that brings together Unreal Engine Marketplace, Sketchfab, Quixel Bridge, and ArtStation. This new platform will allow creators to find, publish, and share digital resources to use in their creations. This market will house all types of digital content, from 3D models, materials, sound, visual effects, to digital humans. All this, with support for a variety of existing graphics engines.
Image reference: unrealengine.com
This has been a brief summary of the most outstanding novelties presented at GDC 2023: State of Unreal. Undoubtedly, with the presentation of each one of them, it’s clear Epic Games’ intention to significantly transform the video game industry.
We’ll be on the lookout for more news! Thank you for reading, until next time.
