Unity Technologies has officially released Unity 6 Preview, a new and improved version of its game engine and the final release of the Unity 6 development cycle, with the final version due out later this year.
According to the developers, the release includes many rendering and performance improvements, new lighting options, updated tools for creating multiplayer games, expanded web and XR functions, as well as AI tools.
One of the highlights of Unity Preview 6 was improvements to the Universal Render Pipeline (URP) engine and the High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP), which received significant performance improvements, resulting in improved faster on different platforms. These improvements could reduce CPU load by 30-50% and render smoother and faster, tailored to different platforms depending on the content.
Of particular note is the recently introduced Resident GPU, which is able to efficiently render larger and more detailed worlds without the need for complex manual optimizations. This feature can reduce CPU frame times for GameObjects by up to 50% when rendering large, complex scenes on PC, mobile devices and consoles.
Other notable improvements include GPU Occlusion Culling, which improves GameObjects performance by reducing refraction per frame, Spatial-Temporal Post-Processing, a feature that allows lower resolution frames to be scaled without losing clarity, and Render Graph for URP, a new rendering framework. and API.
In terms of lighting improvements in Unity 6 Preview, the announcement brings Adaptive Probe Volumes (APV), offering a new way to create global lighting in Unity. APVs simplify the creation and transition processes for Light Probe-illuminated objects, allowing users to seamlessly create light transitions with scene blending and sky occlusion.
In addition, the new version of Unity has better capabilities for creating multiplayer games, thanks to various solutions such as Multiplayer Center – a simplified tool that makes the transition to multiplayer development, Multiplayer Mode player for testing multiplayer functionality in separate processes without leaving Unity. Editor, updated multiplayer tools, improved Net code for GameObjects and Entities and much more.
Additionally, the release includes Unity Sentis, a neural engine designed to quickly integrate AI models at runtime. Sentis enables new AI-powered features such as object recognition, smart NPCs, graphics optimization, and more. In addition, the engine now supports calculating AI model weights (FP16 or UINT8) in the Unity Editor and comes with an AI model library and a new function API that simplifies the process of creating, editing and connecting AI models.
The list of Unity 6 Preview features also includes:
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New tools for creating XR experiences
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Better sky display in HDRP
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Support volumetric fog underwater
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Better tools and URP support for VFX artists
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Multi-format enhancements
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New tools to improve your productivity and operations
Learn more about the new features in Unity 6 Preview on the official website.
