Epic Games presented new features of Unreal Engine 5 at Unreal Fest

Epic Games kicked off the Unreal Fest event and the event featured a massive showcase of the ecosystem of developers and creators using the Unreal Engine and Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). During the festival, many innovations from Epic Games were presented, but the main focus was on the Unreal Engine 5.5 update and its new features.

One of the biggest announcements was a reduction in royalties for developers releasing their games on the Epic Games Store. Developers will now be able to reduce their royalty rate from 5% to 3.5% starting January 1, 2025, under the new EULA terms. Normally, studios have to pay 5% of global revenue, but now those earning more than US$1 million can expect that rate to drop to 3.5%.

https://youtu.be/h_p5AvHA9h8

The Unreal Engine 5.5 Preview 1 update was also presented, which is already available to developers. During Unreal Fest, there was a presentation of new technologies that Epic Games is working on.

One of the most interesting features is the new experimental device MegaLights. It allows for moving, dynamic shadows and volumetric fog lights, and was demonstrated in real time on PlayStation 5 with over 1,000 lights casting shadows.

The Unreal Engine 5.5 update also includes rendering improvements. Nanite can now process skeletal meshes faster, and Path Tracer has reached production stages – already being used in major projects such as the animated Pharrell Williams biopic Piece by Piece.

Unreal Fest also addressed support for high-end games on mobile platforms using Unreal Engine 5.5.

In addition, the Fab Publishing Portal was announced, which brings together the Unreal Engine Marketplace, Sketchfab Store, ArtStation Marketplace and Quixel.com. This portal, launched on September 17, allows developers to buy and sell assets in one place with an 88/12 revenue split. The portal is expected to be fully launched in mid-October.