GDC 2018: CryEngine 5.5 Available Now

Crytek announced the newest update to CryEngine, promising many new long-requested features for the publicly available game engine. Alongside performance and UI upgrades, version 5.5 promises a new beginner's course for those just starting out, overhauls to the lighting, terrain, and entity systems; improvements to how the engine handles source/version control, a new plugin system that allows CryEngine games to work better with platforms such as Steamworks and PSN and a migration guide intended to draw experienced Unity developers to Crytek's engine.

All of these upgrades come from the modifications to the engine that Crytek's main division in Frankfurt have been working on for their new game Hunt: Showdown, which released on Steam's Early Access in February. The CryEngine 5.5 Preview Build is available now directly from the Crytek launcher.