Unity 6 has launched and is being touted as the most stable and high-performing version of the game development platform to date.
Matt Bromberg, President and CEO of Unity, revealed the launch in a blog post, emphasising the company’s commitment to developer-centric improvements and long-term support.
Bromberg, who recently took the helm from John Riccitiello amid numerous controversies, including the widely-criticised (and since-cancelled) Runtime Fee, is steering the company towards a more developer-friendly approach. The launch of Unity 6 is another step towards rebuilding trust with the game development community.
“Cancelling the Runtime Fee for games and instituting these pricing changes will allow us to continue investing to improve game development for everyone while also being better partners,” Bromberg stated last month, signalling a clear shift in Unity’s strategy.
The new release boasts several noteworthy features, including streamlined multiplayer workflows, enhanced mobile web targeting capabilities, and significant graphics improvements. Bromberg highlighted that internal and customer testing demonstrated up to a fourfold increase in CPU performance, thanks to innovations like the GPU Resident Drawer and Render Graph for Universal Render Pipeline (URP).
A key aspect of Unity 6’s development was the company’s revamped approach to the development cycle.
“We’ve spent more than a year in full production mode with scaled, global developers rigorously testing each new feature,” Bromberg explained. This strategy aims to create a continuous feedback loop, ensuring that Unity’s updates have a more positive impact on developers’ daily work.
The commitment to Unity 6 extends beyond the initial release, with Unity pledging support for at least two years after the arrival of the next major version. This long-term focus is complemented by a new update strategy, introducing three release types: major releases, patch releases, and a new category called “Updates”.
These “Updates”, following a 6.X nomenclature, will deliver new functionality without breaking compatibility with the current engine version. The first such update, Unity 6.1, is slated for release in April 2025.
To improve communication with its user base, Unity is expanding its engineering presence on community platforms like Discussions and Discord. The company has also committed to providing more detailed information about patch releases in advance, allowing developers to stay informed and voice concerns more rapidly.
To celebrate the launch, Unity is offering a suite of resources to help developers get started with the new version. These include technical samples, demos, e-books, and a limited-time discount on Unity 6-compatible assets in the Asset Store.
The release of Unity 6 marks a significant milestone for the company, demonstrating its commitment to performance, stability, and developer satisfaction. However, it also comes at a crucial time for Unity as it attempts to navigate the aftermath of recent controversies.
Unity’s latest offering aims to provide creators with the tools they need to bring their visions to life more efficiently than ever before. Yet, the broader industry will be watching closely to see if these changes, along with the reversal of controversial policies, are enough to mend fences with the game development community.
Bromberg concluded his announcement by thanking the community for their trust and support, encouraging developers to download Unity 6 and start creating.
(Photo by Mahdi Bafande)
See also: Halo developers shelve own game development engine for Unreal
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