PS5 Tech Demo Showcases Ridiculous Graphics Of Unreal Engine 5

Coinciding with the announcement of Unreal Engine 5, Epic Games released a tech demo running on PlayStation 5 that showcases what the engine is capable of delivering in terms of graphics and overall presentation. Though it wasn't a slice of a full game, it does show just how far the PS5 will be able to push visuals past what the PS4 could do.

The new real-time demo is called "Lumen in the Land of Nanite." According to Epic, the trailer is meant to showcase what the Unreal Engine 5 is technically capable of delivering in terms of real-time rendering details for next-generation games "and beyond."

The Lumen in the Land of Nanite tech demo focuses on two of Unreal Engine 5's "core technologies," including Nanite and Lumen. In short, Nanite is a new "virtualized micropolygon geometry" technology that gives artists the ability to create "as much geometric detail as the eye can see." For this tech demo, Epic used the Quixel Megascans library that features "film-quality" objects that feature "hundreds of millions" of polygons' worth of detail.

The second of the technologies shown off in the video is Lumen, which Epic says is a "fully dynamic global Illumination solution that immediately reacts to scene and light changes." Using Lumen, artists and designers are able to create "more dynamic scenes," Epic said. This could include things like the sun angle for a particular point in the day and turning on a flashlight. "Lumen erases the need to wait for lightmap bakes to finish and to author light map UVs--a huge time savings when an artist can move a light inside the Unreal Editor and lighting looks the same as when the game is run on console," Epic said.

The Lumen in the Land of Nanite tech demo is the product of "numerous teams and technologies," Epic said. Importantly, this video is not meant to represent what PS5 and Xbox Series X games will necessarily look like, but instead what Unreal Engine 5 is technically capable of allowing for. However, the demo is fully playable, so this is not some pre-rendered footage meant to trick players. Games can feasibly look like this on next-generation systems.

Unreal Engine 5 will become available in a preview at the beginning of 2021, with a full release scheduled for later in the year.

For more on Epic's announcements around Unreal Engine 5, check out the stories below.

• Unreal Engine 5 Announced, Promises Graphics That Look As Good As Real Life
• PS5's Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo Images Are Absolutely Stunning
• Fortnite Is A Launch Title For PS5 And Xbox Series X