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Meta Quest Gets Unreal Engine 5, Minus Some Of Its Best Features

The Lumen and Nanite tools will be missing, due to the Quest 2’s mobile-based processor and Android OS

Meta is embarking on the leap from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.1 for its apps built for the Quest platform.

Unreal Engine is one of the most widely used video game engines and Meta has announced that those using the platform to build apps for the Meta Quest should start thinking about UE5. By using Unreal Engine 5, developers will have more tools to play with and will be supported by future updates.

The company does state that no immediate action is needed from developers as it will still support critical bug fixes for UE4 until the end of the year. It also noted that apps can still be distributed to the meta Quest Store or App Lab using UE4.

Many developers will be looking toward creating in Unreal Engine 5 however, Meta states that any projects currently midway through development using UE4 should wait to update. This is to maintain continuity in development and ensure that tools and features aren’t impacted.

Unreal update

We have seen gaming titles like Fortnite get the UE5 upgrade treatment with its new graphics and gameplay overhaul. Two key features that have contributed to that update are Nanite and Lumen. Nanite introduces an improved virtualised geometry system that helps to render pixel scale and high poly counts with minimal effort. Lumen is all about lights, creating better reflections and dynamic lighting in games.

Pair the two together, and it’s a developer’s dream. However, the new update for Meta is missing these two key features. Unfortunately, these tools aren’t made to work on mobile processors and are yet to support Android. So while Quest developers can look forward to tinkering with official support in Unreal Engine 5, it will be missing some of its best features.

Unreal Engine continues to expand with the likes of Game7’s Web3 plug-in, which allows developers to integrate blockchain technology into titles with greater ease within the engine. As for Meta, the company announced it would be following last year’s layoffs with further losses of 10,000 employees.

Written By

Paige Cook is a writer with a multi-media background. She has experience covering video games and technology and also has freelance experience in video editing, graphic design, and photography. Paige is a massive fan of the movie industry and loves a good TV show, if she is not watching something interesting then she's probably playing video games or buried in a good book. Her latest addiction is virtual photography and currently spends far too much time taking pretty pictures in games rather than actually finishing them.

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