Video game graphics have come a long way since the industry’s early days, and according to an Epic Games executive, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will help take visuals to an even higher level.
Epic Games’ chief technology officer Kim Liberi said in an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine U.K. that the next-generation consoles will work with the company’s Unreal Engine 5 to integrate “movie-quality assets” into games, Video Games Chronicle reported.
“It has been a lifelong dream of mine that real-time computer graphics, and in particular games, can be as believable and realistic as a movie,” said Liberi.
“Next-gen graphics and processing power will not only make games more immersive, but will also enable entirely new gameplay concepts that can take advantage of fully dynamic environments and lighting, much-improved physics, smarter AI, and richer multiplayer experiences,” he added.
Unreal Engine’s Nanite tech
Liberi mentioned Epic Games’ collaboration with The Mandalorian, which used Unreal Engine for visual effects, as an example of how video games and movies were merging, which he said will be assisted by the Nanite technology of Unreal Engine 5.
“You can now create environments with full-quality cinematic assets and the engine does all the heavy lifting, resulting in some truly photorealistic results,” said Liberi, as the Nanite technology will scale the assets in real time without any loss in quality.
Unreal Engine 5, along with its Nanite technology, was already showcased in May in a real-time PlayStation 5 demo titled Lumen in the Land of Nanite. However, the preview for Unreal Engine 5 will roll out in early 2021, with a full release planned for late 2021, so games made with it will not be arriving soon after the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launch this holiday season.
