PS5: UE5's MegaLights technology creates thousands of light sources in real time

At its Unreal Fest presentation, Epic showed off its latest UE5 lighting technology. Since Sony has been investing in Epic for a long time, the PlayStation maker could also be part of the bid. The new MegaLights technology is introduced on the PlayStation 5. The demonstration lasted about seven minutes.

A light will shine upon you – or 1000!

In Epic's video, you can see a character running through different environments with a complex lighting design. Neon lights, decorative lights, billboards, drones, mosaic windows, arcade machines… the list of built-in light sources is long. It actually looks very realistic and the demo also seems to run smoothly.

There are also many equally complex options for casting shadows. Lots of bags, fruit boxes, worn walls with all kinds of grooves, plants, tables, chairs, huge fabrics and more. All this across broad areas, from traditional markets to future scenarios.

“Watch a live demo of the new @UnrealEngine demo feature called MegaLights, where over 1,000 shadow lights illuminate a scene in real time on PS5.” X contribution From Sony.

Users are also enthusiastic in the comments. They show it through simple text or GIFs of cheerful anime characters with super sparkly eyes – Eevee from Pokémon and Anya from Spy x Family are stuck in my head.

What's especially exciting is that this technology works not only on expensive high-end PCs, but also on the simple PlayStation 5. Since the PS5 Pro is not mentioned here, one can assume that this is a regular console.

At the same presentation, Riot Games announced that Valorant will move to Unreal Engine 5, leaving behind the old version. In the future, this means more improvements and opportunities to improve the shooter for players. But new gaming experiences aimed at expanding the Valorant universe have also been hinted at. Can we work on new modes or even separate games?