Unity 6 launching in 2024, featuring AI tools and more multiplayer tech
Engine provider revives numbering system as it gears up for next major launch
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
Unity has revived its previous numbering system, with Unity 2023 LTS renamed Unity 6 ahead of its launch next year.
Back in 2016, the engine provided announced it was changing the way it updates its titular tech, focusing on a yearly system of more incremental updates rather than major releases. Unity 5.6 was the last release in this cycle, before the product became referred to as Unity 2017, with the name updated each year.
That changes in 2024 when Unity 6 arrives.
The decision was announced at today's Unite event, where the company said the next major release of its engine will feature performance improvements, accelerated multiplayer game development, and AI tools such as Sentis, which enables programmers to include an AI model in games on any device.
Unity 6 will also expand on the Muse suite of AI tools and services. We spoke to the company's Marc Whitten earlier today about how Unity is aiming for "responsibly sourced" AI tools as it moves forward.
The next major version of Unity will also add a new WebGPU graphics backend, enabling developers to run their games anywhere on the internet, including within a browser or in native apps.
Some of Unity 6's features and capabilities were showcased in the company's Fantasy Kingdom demo, which you can view below.
The company also announced Unity Cloud, a platform of connected services that aims to help developers work better together regardless of location.
