Epic Games has launched the preview of Unreal Engine 5.5, delivering several key updates aimed at streamlining workflows for digital artists across film, VFX, and game production. The most notable addition is the Sparse Volume Global Illumination (SVGI), a new lighting feature designed to improve indirect lighting in real-time scenes. This system optimizes performance by using sparse volumetric representations, allowing for higher quality lighting with reduced computational overhead. Artists working on large scenes or complex lighting setups should benefit from faster renders without compromising visual fidelity.
In addition to SVGI, Unreal Engine 5.5 introduces enhancements to Nanite, Unreal’s virtualized geometry system. The update includes better support for large assets, ensuring smoother handling of highly detailed models. These improvements will help studios working on high-poly environments, allowing for real-time editing without lag.
For VFX artists, the engine now supports VFX Graph Enhancements, particularly in terms of GPU-driven simulations. With these updates, creators can work more efficiently on particle systems and complex visual effects. Unreal Engine 5.5 also integrates new debugging tools, which should simplify the troubleshooting process, making iteration cycles faster.
Game developers will notice refinements in the Animation System, with additional tools for handling complex character rigs and motion capture data. Artists can now more easily refine animations within the engine, streamlining the export process and reducing reliance on external software. The State Machine Workflow also gets an upgrade, making it more intuitive for handling character AI and interactive sequences.
The Pricing
Unreal Engine offers two main types of licensing, depending on the revenue generated by your project -these changed a little bit.
- Free License:
If your project (game, app, or other interactive media) generates less than $1 million in gross revenue, the license is free. You can use Unreal Engine for free during development, and you won’t owe any royalties until your revenue exceeds the $1 million threshold. This license also covers educators and schools, giving them access to all Unreal features at no cost. - Royalty-Based License:
Once your product generates over $1 million in gross revenue, Unreal Engine now requires a 3,5 % royalty on all revenue exceeding that amount. This royalty applies to most revenue streams related to the product, including game sales, in-app purchases, and advertising. However, if you sell your product through the Epic Games Store, the royalty is waived for that portion of the revenue.
Additionally, for large companies or non-game projects, there’s a seat-based licensing model. Companies generating over $1 million in revenue and using Unreal Engine for internal tools or non-game applications may need to pay 1850 Us Dollar per seat, per year. For all the changes, head over to our friends at cg channel, who did a great roundup of the new pricing.
