Unity 2018.2 is now available and it continues the 2018 cycle with a range of improvements and new features which allow 2D and 3D developers on any hardware to achieve beautiful graphics and high-end performance. Future innovations that will revolutionize AR development, make creating connected games easier, and enable further success of the world’s highest earning gaming community also debuted during last month’s Unite Berlin developer conference.
Assets for each feature and interviews are available by request. Key highlights coming in the future include (view the blog post for more):
-
Unity powers 50% of all new gaming experiences, reaches 3 billion devices worldwide, and generated 24 billion downloads in 2017. Unity 2018.2 introduces key features such as 2D Sprite Shape, which gives designers the power to sculpt and bend worlds using a visual layout tool, and a new 2D animation system that makes it easy to create animated characters that consist of a single sprite.
-
Next Level Graphics and Performance by Default - Unity 2018 is a major upgrade which introduces the start of several innovations, including the Scriptable Render Pipelines and the Entity Component System, which make it easier and faster to achieve beautiful graphics and high-end performance.
-
Unity and Google Making it Easier to Create Connected Games - Connected games are the most played, watched and successful experiences today. Making connected games is a challenging endeavor that requires resources, technology, and knowledge -- a hard feat for developers large and small. Unity and Google are reducing this barrier by introducing a suite of features to Unity 2018.2 designed to enable connected games including game server hosting and game-specific services such as an open source matchmaking project developed by Unity and Google.
-
Mixed and Augmented Reality Studio (MARS) - Unity is delivering on the promise of AR by giving creators the power to build applications that intelligently interact with any environment. Project MARS allows developers to build for the real world: creating engrossing multi-plane experiences that will work indoors, outdoors, and everywhere in between without requiring complex lines of code.
-
Machine Learning Gives Animators More Power - Kinematica generates smooth, natural-looking movements by applying machine learning to any data source. This eliminates the need for complex animation webs or blend trees so that creators can iterate faster and focus on their art.
-
New Prefab Workflows - Unity spoke to a wide range of indie and AAA studios to understand the needs of teams working with Prefabs. This has led to the creation of the new Prefab workflow, which is a faster, more efficient, and safer way to edit Prefabs. New features include support for nesting and inheritance, and the ability to apply overrides on multiple levels of granularity. The new Prefab workflow preview is available to try now.
-
Creators using Unity have generated more than $12.4 billion USD over the last 18 months. Unity is helping creators improve how they monetize by allowing them to tailor the game advertising experience for each player. Using Personalized Placements, creators can take advantage of a prediction engine that determines what to show each player based on what will drive the highest engagement and lifetime value.
Furthermore, Unity is powering the next wave of creative and gorgeous games including GTFO (10 Chambers Collective), Oddworld: Soulstorm (Oddworld Inhabitants), Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios), Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.) and Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games). More information about each of these titles will be revealed in the coming months.
More information about the future of Unity will be on display during Unite Los Angeles (October 23-25).
