Epic's Unreal Engine Rolls Out Major Update, Lumen Lite Mode Now Available For Switch 2
Epic Games has launched Unreal Engine 5.8 as the final major update for the fifth-generation engine. The release introduces Lumen Lite to help games reach 60FPS on the Nintendo Switch 2. Development will now transition toward Unreal Engine 6.
What changed
New details confirm the addition of MegaLights and tools for procedural vegetation and worldbuilding.
Live updates
-
Epic Games Releases Unreal Engine 5.8 with Lumen Lite for Switch 2
confidence 100%Epic Games has launched Unreal Engine 5.8 as the final major update for the fifth-generation engine. The release introduces Lumen Lite to help games reach 60FPS on the Nintendo Switch 2. Development will now transition toward Unreal Engine 6.
What's confirmed:
- Unreal Engine 5.8 is the final major update before the move to Unreal Engine 6.
- Lumen Lite is designed to help games target 60FPS on the Nintendo Switch 2.
- The update includes new worldbuilding tools and procedural vegetation creation.
-
Epic Releases Unreal Engine 5.8 With Lumen Lite for Switch 2
confidence 95%Epic Games has launched Unreal Engine 5.8, introducing a Lumen Lite mode for dynamic global illumination. This update targets 60 fps on the Nintendo Switch 2 by reducing GPU costs. Development is now shifting toward the upcoming Unreal Engine 6.
What's confirmed:
- Unreal Engine 5.8 is now available for developers.
- Lumen Lite mode uses irradiance fields with probe occlusion to lower GPU costs.
- Lumen Lite runs twice as fast as Lumen High Quality.
- The Lumen Lite update allows games using global illumination to run at 60 fps on Nintendo Switch 2.
- Lumen Lite is also supported on PC.
- Unreal Engine 6 will merge UE5 and UEFN into a single, unified engine.
- Unreal Engine 6 will integrate AI models.
Still unconfirmed:
- Epic Games wants to allow Fortnite skins to be used in other games.
- $1bn has been paid to UEFN developers.