Unity Technologies has announced that Unity 6 will officially launch worldwide on October 17, 2024. This exciting news was revealed during the company’s Unite developer conference, where a preview of upcoming features and advancements in game development was also shared.

Unity 6 promises a host of new features, including customizable graphics rendering, enhanced tools for multiplayer game development, and optimized support for web-based games through a new WebGPU backend. A significant highlight is the integration of advanced AI tools such as Sentis, which will allow developers to incorporate AI models across various devices. The engine will also expand the Muse suite of AI-driven tools and services, making AI a key component of game development workflows.

The first major update, Unity 6.1, is slated for April 2025. This version will build upon Unity 6’s core capabilities, introducing support for foldable and larger screens, deferred rendering with GPU Resident Drawer, and new build targets and profiles to enhance the development experience.

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While Unity 6 marks a significant leap forward, Unity has confirmed that work has already begun on the next generation of the engine. Although still in the early stages of development, this future iteration aims to deliver a “fundamental shift in design,” incorporating features like the Entity Component System (ECS) at its core, a new content pipeline, a world-building system based on DOTS, and an upgraded animation system.

Unity CEO Matt Bromberg emphasized the company’s focus on meeting developer needs, particularly regarding stability and performance. “Unity 6 is the best version of Unity yet, with long-term support and regular updates, all while minimizing disruption to developers’ current projects,” Bromberg stated.

Unity 5, which launched in March 2015, marked the beginning of a yearly update cycle. However, the company has since reverted to its major update model to deliver more substantial, feature-packed releases.

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Recently, Unity also reversed its controversial runtime fee policy after engaging in “deep consultation” with the community, customers, and partners. The fee, initially announced last September, faced significant backlash, leading to its removal for games using Unity Personal licenses.