Unreal Engine 4, one of the most popular games engines in the industry, now natively supports PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X console hardware with platform-specific optimizations designed to tap each system's respective feature sets.
Epic just released Unreal Engine v 4.25, a new update that opens the doorways to high-end enhancements on next-gen consoles. The update also includes real-time raytracing support which is well-timed for next-gen consoles. Epic says this is just the beginning of their support for PS5 and Xbox Series X system hardware and we should expect more updates over time.
"For game developers, this is the first release with initial support for Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X as first-class platforms, and throughout the year we will be updating the 4.25-Plus branch with optimizations, fixes, and certification requirements to support developers launching on the next generation of consoles. Features include platform-specific functionality, such as new audio advancements, initial support for online subsystems, and early support for TRC and XR certification requirements," Epic said in the post.
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This is tremendously exciting for developers and gamers.
Not only will existing UE4-powered games get enhanced on next-gen systems thanks to new hardware and advanced scaling tech, but new games can be built specifically from the ground up for the new platforms. That means insane load times with the PCIe 4.0 SSD, amazing native 4K visuals, smooth FPS thanks to VRS and variable refresh rates, hardware-based raytracing via Navi 2X GPUs, and reduced game file sizes.
Unreal Engine 4 powers a bunch of today's most biggest games, including Hellbalde II: Senua's Saga, Final Fantasy VII: Remake, DBZ: Kakarot, Kingdom Hearts III, and even the System Shock remake.