Epic Games has officially released Unreal Engine 5.6, unveiling the update at the State of Unreal event during Unreal Fest Orlando 2025 with participation from partners such as CD Projekt Red. The Witcher 4 was previewed running at 60 FPS with ray tracing on PlayStation 5, demonstrating the engine's enhanced performance capabilities. A major feature of Unreal Engine 5.6 is the integration of MetaHuman Creator directly into the engine, enabling developers to create and customize hyperrealistic digital characters with improved tools for faces, bodies, and clothing. Real-time animation is now possible using standard webcams or audio input. MetaHumans and compatible accessories can be bought and sold on Epic’s Fab marketplace, and new licensing options allow their use in other engines such as Unity, Godot, and creative software including Maya, Houdini, and Blender. Performance improvements in Unreal Engine 5.6 include optimizations for 60 frames per second gaming with hardware ray tracing on current-generation consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. The update introduces Control Rig Physics, the Fast Geometry Streaming Plugin, asynchronous physics state creation, a redesigned UI for the Viewport Toolbar and Content Browser, improved device profile management, and a new mobile preview solution, streamlining workflows and reducing package sizes for mobile development. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney highlighted the impact of new AI tools, predicting that small teams could soon use AI prompts to create large-scale games comparable to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Sweeney noted that AI-driven engines will enable new genres and expansive interactive worlds, with AI facilitating infinite dialogue and character interactions. Epic showcased AI-powered features in Fortnite, including an AI-driven Darth Vader character voiced by James Earl Jones using Gemini 2.0 Flash and ElevenLabs Flash v2.5. The company announced plans to let users create their own AI NPCs in Fortnite, while acknowledging ongoing debates about the ethics of generative AI.