Unreal Engine 5.1 is available today, building upon the groundbreaking feature set introduced in UE5 to enable even easier and faster 3D content creation. A range of stress-tested new features and improvements in 5.1 make Unreal even more robust, efficient, and versatile for creators across all industries.

Game development

Game developers can now take advantage of updates to the Lumen dynamic global illumination and reflections system, the Nanite virtualized micropolygon geometry system, and Virtual Shadow Maps (VSM) that lay the groundwork for games and experiences running at 60 frames per second (fps) on next-gen consoles and capable PCs. These improvements will enable fast-paced competition and detailed simulations without latency.

Additionally, Nanite has also added a Programmable Rasterizer to allow for material-driven animations and deformations via World Position Offset, as well as opacity masks. This exciting development paves the way for artists to use Nanite to program specific objects’ behavior, for example Nanite-based foliage with leaves blowing in the wind.

UE 5.1 also adds several features to improve efficiency for developers of games and other large-scale interactive projects, helping teams be more productive. For instance, Virtual Assets decouple the metadata from the object data, enabling developers to sync only what they need from source control systems such as Perforce — resulting in smaller workspaces and faster syncs for developers who don’t need…