Unreal Engine 5 is here to take gaming to the next level

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A few months ago, Epic Games and the creators of The Matrix teamed up for a new kind of gaming experience using the unreleased Unreal Engine 5. Now, the engine has officially launched and Epic looks to take gaming to the next level with its latest technology.

In a blog post on the Unreal website earlier this week, Epic Games announced that Unreal Engine 5 had officially launched and is now available to download.

Unreal Engine entered its initial development in 1995 for Epic Games. The engine was developed for the company’s first entry into gaming, the 1998 first-person shooter aptly named Unreal.

Developers started asking to use the engine before Unreal even came out. Epic founder, Tim Sweeney licensed the engine in 1996.

Obviously, we’ve come a long way at this point. Epic Games is now likely more known for its hit battle royal, Fortnite, than it is for its influence in gaming.

But the Unreal Engine 5 update features some impressive improvements that could catapult gaming graphics and gameplay forward.

Included in the new engine are a few technologies to help design more realistic visuals. Lumen, for example, is a new lighting solution for lifelike lighting.

Additionally, Nanite gives developers more control over geometric detail. Unreal Engine 5 contains several more features and updated UI to help developers make the games of tomorrow.

And many devs have already bought in. CD Projekt Red will use Unreal Engine 5 for the next Witcher game. And Crystal Dynamics has announced the next Tomb Raider, which will also take advantage of Epic Games’ latest engine.

If Epic Games’ recent success with Fortnite and the Epic Games Store is any indication of how well Unreal Engine 5 was made, then I think it’s safe to say that the future of gaming is in good hands with the latest Unreal Engine update.

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