Highlights included the launch of Unreal Engine 5.6. And the update's new graphics and animation capabilities were shown off in spectacular style in a truly beautiful The Witcher 4 tech demo.
The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo 4K | State of Unreal | Unreal Fest Orlando - YouTube
The Unreal Engine 5.6 tech demo from The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red offers a peek at the upcoming game's vast fantasy open world. Developers played live on stage on a base PS5 at 60 frames per second with raytracing on (see from the 4 minute mark in the video above).
With new protagonist Ciri replacing Geralt, they took us through lush forest landscapes and then to a busy port market town called Valdrest and a breath view of the kingdom of Kovir, showing the breadth of Unreal Engine 5.6's capabilities, from complex vegetation to bustling crowd scenes.
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Ciri, the new protagonist in The Witcher 4(Image credit: Epic Games)
(Image credit: Epic Games)
(Image credit: Epic Games)
For the former, Unreal Engine 5.6's new Nanite Foliage geometry system allows every leaf to be modelled for incredible density. In the latter, we see improvements in the responsiveness of character actions, including complex chain reactions.
For the marketplace scenes, character tech including MetaHuman tools and the new Unreal animation framework come to the fore, closing the gap in quality between the game's protagonist and NPCs. At one point, we see over 300 animated skeletal mesh agents on screen, while improved Smart Objects also enhance responsiveness.
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A crowd scene in Valdrest in The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5.6 tech demo(Image credit: Epic Games)
Dense vegetation thanks to UE's new Nanite foliage(Image credit: Epic Games)
Dense vegetation thanks to UE's new Nanite foliage(Image credit: Epic Games)
Epic scenes(Image credit: Epic Games)
But I think what I wound most impressive of all – and most illustrative of how much game graphics tech has improved – is the earlier appearance of Kelpie, a new horse. Making use of the new multi-character motion matching in Unreal Engine, Ciri and Kelpie appear to move synchronised during mounting at any angle and speed.
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Root motion makes the horse's movement feels realistic and grounded and machine-learned deformations create the impression of photorealistic muscles moving and flexing under Kelpie's skin. I could watch it all day!
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Kelpie, the new horse in The Witcher 4(Image credit: Epic Games)
Machine-learned deformations create the impression of realistic muscles moving and flexing under Kelpie's skin(Image credit: Epic Games)
Ciri and Kelpie appear to move synchronised during mounting at any angle and speed(Image credit: Epic Games)
Unreal Engine 5.6 is available to developers today. As for The Witcher 4, there's still no news on the release date. CD Projekt Red launched the trailer at the Game Awards 2024 in December but we already knew as far back as 2022 that it had switched to UE5 for the game after the issues with the Cyberpunk 2077 launch.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
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