Epic announced a slate of new features for Unreal Engine 5 during its State of Unreal address, but the most important update flew under the radar.

From Nanite to Lumen to advancements in world and data streaming, here is a breakdown of exactly what Unreal Engine 5 means for the games industry.

Unreal Engine 5 is officially released and ready to power your next-gen game. Epic also released several sample projects, including a new playable shooter called Lyra.

Unreal Engine 3 Now to include Scaleform GFx UI design tool for no extra pennies.

Epic says Unreal Engine 5 was developed with forward compatibility in mind, meaning developers will be able to build their games in Unreal 4 and move them to the newest engine later.

Epic Games says Unreal Engine 5 will be the bedrock for Web 3 developments—from metaverse experiences to films, and of course, video games.