Unreal Engine 5.7 is now here, and it comes with many exciting upgrades that make game development easier, faster, and more fun. This update focuses on helping creators build huge and beautiful open worlds, create more lifelike characters, work with better lighting, and speed up animation work. Everything in this version is designed to save time and make the creative process smoother, even for small teams or beginners.
One of the biggest additions is the improved Procedural Content Generation system, now ready for real production work. This tool lets developers quickly fill large worlds with trees, plants, rocks, and other items without placing everything by hand. It can also add natural variety, so environments look more alive. The new PCG Editor Mode makes this even easier by giving simple tools to draw shapes, paint areas, or create volumes that can instantly generate content. It all works in real time, and creators do not need to write any code.
Unreal Engine 5.7 boosts
This update also adds major performance boosts on the GPU side, making PCG even faster. New tools like Polygon2D, spline intersection, and split operations offer more control when building open worlds. Along with this, the new Procedural Vegetation Editor gives developers a fast way to make high-quality plants and trees directly inside Unreal Engine. These assets can also use Nanite for high detail and low performance cost.
Unreal Engine 5.7 also introduces Nanite Foliage, a new Experimental system made for rendering dense forests and heavy vegetation at high speed. It uses tiny voxel elements to create solid-looking tree canopies and ground clutter without popping or fading. Thanks to Nanite’s powerful system, developers do not have to create LODs manually, and the engine can show millions of details at stable frame rates.
Another major feature now ready for production is Substrate, a flexible material system that makes it easy to build realistic surfaces like metal, skin, cloth, or multi-layered paint. Substrate also works efficiently across all platforms, including mobile, giving creators the same look everywhere.
Lighting also receives a boost. MegaLights is now in Beta and lets developers use far more dynamic lights with soft shadows and rich visual effects. This makes scenes look more cinematic and colourful without hurting performance. Improvements to directional lights, translucency, hair shading, and Niagara particles also help raise the visual quality of all projects.
MetaHuman tools now work more deeply with Unreal Engine. Users on Linux and macOS can use the MetaHuman Creator plugin, and developers can now automate many MetaHuman tasks using Python or Blueprints. New mesh-conforming tools make it easy to edit characters in different poses, and Live Link Face now supports real-time facial capture using a simple camera setup. Hair tools get major upgrades too, with joint-based control and better styling options.
For animation, Unreal Engine 5.7 introduces a cleaner Animation Mode and an easier way to manage rigs with Selection Sets. The IK Retargeter has improved contact handling and better control for stretching animations. The Skeletal Editor also now supports sculpting, making it simple to adjust blend shapes and weights without switching tools.
Virtual production workflows also grow stronger. The new Dynamic Constraint Component lets props follow hand motion more naturally, even for complex actions. Live Link Broadcast allows Unreal Engine to act as a data source across the network, opening the door to multi-machine setups. Composure, the built-in compositing tool, also receives a major update with better keying, shadows, and reflections for real-time shoots.
Finally, Unreal Engine 5.7 brings a new AI Assistant built directly into the editor. Developers can ask questions, get code samples, and follow step-by-step guidance without leaving the workspace. The new Home Panel also gives quick access to tutorials, documentation, news, and recent projects. A guided sample project helps new users start learning right away.
Unreal Engine 5.7 is a warm and exciting release that makes game creation more creative and less stressful. With better tools, faster performance, and smart AI help, developers of all skill levels can build richer worlds and more expressive characters with less effort than ever before.
