Unreal engine 5.8 twice as fast
Published 2026-06-18 10.05
A game changer.
The new update brings Unreal 5 graphics – twice as fast.
It enables significantly more games and a better experience for consoles such as Switch 2, Steam deck and Xbox series S.
Epic Games have released an update to the game engine Unreal Enginemodel 5.8. The biggest news is Lumen Lite, a more resource-efficient version of the advanced Lumen lighting system. It should provide a similar visual quality as before, but with a significantly lower load on the graphics hardware and is said to be twice as fast as Lumen High Quality.
Better refresh rate
It could be a game changer for the Nintendo Switch 2. Games that use advanced global lighting, for example “Fortnite” should now be able to run at 60 frames per second, both in docked and handheld mode. Lords of the Fallen, which is coming to Switch 2 later this year, should also benefit from the update. Epic emphasizes that this makes it easier for developers to adapt Unreal Engine 5 games to the Switch 2 without having to make the same graphical compromises.
The Xbox Series S and Steam deck should also benefit significantly from the update.
Does not close doors
Epic announces that UE 5.8 will be the last major update to Unreal Engine 5, while the development of Unreal Engine 6 is now ramping up.
Other games using Unreal Engine 5 are “Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl” and “Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga” but nothing has been said about any possible Switch 2 versions of these.
In May, however, hinted Agostino Simonettachief commercial officer at GSC Game World, on Stalker chances for Gamereactor:
– You never know, we are always exploring new ideas and platforms. Stalker is a big game and we need to look into it, but I’m a big Nintendo fan.
