Unreal Engine 5.6 is now available, introducing many improvements that will aid developers in creating high-fidelity open worlds running at 60 frames per second on current generation hardware.
The new features of the latest version of the engine have been revealed during this year's edition of State of Unreal, and summarized in a video which showcases hardware ray tracing enhancements that boost Lumen Global Illumination performance, faster geometry streaming for smoother loading of massive static worlds, an intuitive redesign of Motion trails, revamped Tween Tools and redesigned Curve editor, procedural physics via the new Physics Control rig, MetaHuman creation tools now being embedded in the engine with brand-new features, simplified user interface and more, and smoother and more efficient GPU spawning at runtime.
A first in-game look at some of the Unreal Engine 5.6 features summarized in the video above was provided earlier today with the first-ever The Witcher IV gameplay. While the footage may be a little lacking in terms of action, it does an excellent job showcasing some of the new technology CD Projekt Red is developing together with Epic that will make the game one of the most immersive open-world RPGs ever, such as Nanite Foliage, which allows the developer to create dense foliage without having a major impact on performance.
Additional information on Unreal Engine 5.6 can be found on its official website.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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