Back in 2020, Epic Games showed the public their Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). Until now, gamers still don’t get to play any UE5 games yet except Fortnite and The Matrix Awakens. We won’t be able to see new UE5 games till later part of this year. Nevertheless, last week during its State of Unreal presentation at GDC 2023, Epic Games presented a few new demos showing what UE5 is capable of.
At Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, the Ninja Theory developer showed off Epic’s new tool called MetaHuman Animator. This tool helps indie game developers create realistic facial captures using just their iPhone instead of specialized equipment. The two demos from Epic show how this works; you can turn an actor’s video into something that can be used in the game easily and quickly. Epic said the animator will be released this summer.
Epic presented Unreal Engine 5.2’s features using an electric vehicle called Rivian’s R1T in their demo. UE5 has Substrate shading system which lets graphic designers mix different materials on objects without creating any problems with the lighting. There are also new tools available to construct bigger and more intricate levels with only a few pieces of custom-made content.
Soon, the first video games made using Unreal Engine 5 will be released. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl should arrive this year. Lords of the Fallen and Black Myth: Wukong have been in development for a few years but currently don’t have a release date yet.
