The State of Unreal 2025 showcase just wrapped, and it was packed with groundbreaking tech, stunning demos, and powerful new tools for developers across gaming and interactive media. The event highlighted Epic Games’ latest innovations for Unreal Engine 5.6, major expansions to MetaHuman, and exciting updates for creators using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN).
A First Look at the Next Witcher Saga – Powered by Unreal Engine
The show opened with an exciting technical demo created in partnership with CD PROJEKT RED, offering a glimpse into the cutting-edge features fueling the next Witcher saga. While not The Witcher 4 itself, the demo follows Ciri as she navigates the kingdom of Kovir during a monster-hunting contract.
Running in real-time on PlayStation 5 at 60 FPS with ray tracing, the demo showcases Unreal Engine 5.6’s open-world capabilities — including Fast Geometry Streaming, ML Deformer for realistic facial animation, and the visually stunning Nanite Foliage system, which will be fully rolled out in version 5.7.
Unreal Engine 5.6: Built for Scale, Speed, and Visual Fidelity
Now available for download, Unreal Engine 5.6 is engineered to help teams build massive, visually rich open worlds that perform seamlessly on modern hardware — including consoles, high-end PCs, and even mobile.
Key features include:
- Optimized large-world support
- Integrated animation and rigging workflows within the engine
- Native MetaHuman authoring tools
- Performance improvements targeting consistent 60 FPS output
This update marks a significant step toward making large-scale development more accessible and performant than ever before.
MetaHuman 5.6: Next-Gen Digital Humans
MetaHuman 5.6 takes the toolkit out of early access and fully integrates it into the engine. The latest release brings:
- More lifelike digital characters with higher-quality materials and improved scan data
- Broader customization options for faces, bodies, and outfits
- MetaHuman Animator, which can generate real-time animations from video or audio
- Expanded compatibility with external platforms like Unity, Godot, Maya, Houdini, and Blender
New plugins and Fab marketplace integration also make asset importing and creative iteration easier than ever.
Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN): More IPs, AI Tools, and LEGO Builds
UEFN continues to thrive with over 260,000 live islands and $722 million paid to third-party creators. Epic is supercharging UEFN development with:
- LEGO Brick Editor – build block-by-block starting June 17
- New IPs arriving soon: Squid Game (June 27), Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Star Wars
- Conversational AI NPCs, debuting with Darth Vader in Fortnite: Galactic Battle, are being made available to creators with the new Persona Device
- The Epic Developer Assistant, an AI-powered code helper for Verse, is now in beta
- Scene Graph launches June 7 – a unified runtime/editor view system enabling prefab creation and dynamic scene control with Verse scripting
RealityScan 2.0: Smarter, Faster 3D Scanning
RealityScan 2.0 will soon unify mobile and desktop scanning experiences under one app with smarter features like:
- AI masking
- Improved alignment tools
- Support for airborne laser scans
CD PROJEKT RED used the tool to bring real-world elements into their Witcher tech demo.
Fab and Loci Join Forces for Smarter Asset Creation
The Fab asset marketplace is coming to the Epic Games Launcher this summer. With Loci tech integration, developers will benefit from:
- Automated asset tagging
- Smarter search through semantic AI
- Improved intellectual property management
Epic Games Store Updates: More Games, More Features, Better Revenue Sharing
- The Epic Games Store (EGS) continues to grow rapidly, now boasting:
- Over $2.1 billion paid to developers
- A mobile library of 70 games with 40 million installs
- New revenue share model: 0% for first $1M, then 12% afterward
Upcoming features and events:
- MONGIL: STAR DIVE (by Netmarble) launches exclusively in October on EGS
- Pre-loading coming in September
- Gifting for PC and mobile in time for the holidays
- Epic Web Shops launching in July, allowing devs to sell in-app items with favorable terms
- Major social features incoming — game-independent voice and text chat, parties, and friend invites across platforms
Conclusion: A Massive Leap Forward for Creators Everywhere
From next-gen open worlds to AI-driven development tools, Epic Games is delivering an arsenal of powerful innovations for developers, storytellers, and artists alike. Whether you’re building massive RPGs, crafting Fortnite islands, or designing digital humans, there’s never been a better time to create.
Explore all the new features and downloads now on the Epic Developer Community.
