Unity (game engine) facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | Unity Technologies |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1.0 / June 8, 2005 |
| Stable release |
6000.0.5f1 (Tech Stream)
2023.2.20f1 (LTS) / June 4, 2024 April 9, 2024 |
| Preview release |
Unity 6000.0.0 Beta 15 (Beta)
2023.2.0a22 (Alpha) / April 13, 2024 July 10, 2023 |
| Written in | |
| Platform | See § Supported platforms |
| License | Proprietary software |
Unity is a powerful game engine created by Unity Technologies. It helps people make video games and other interactive experiences. It first came out in June 2005 for Mac OS X computers.
Since then, Unity has grown to support many different devices. You can use it to make games for computers, phones, game consoles, and even augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets. It's especially popular for making mobile games on iOS and Android. Many new game creators and indie game developers find Unity easy to learn and use.
Unity lets you create games in both 3D (like a world you can walk through) and 2D (like classic side-scrolling games). Besides games, it's also used in other areas. These include making movies, designing cars, creating buildings, and even for training by the United States Armed Forces.
Contents
The Story of Unity
The Unity game engine started in 2005. Its goal was to make game development easier for everyone. It was first shown at a big Apple event in 2005. The next year, Unity won an award from Apple for its graphics. At first, Unity only worked on Mac computers. Later, it added support for Microsoft Windows and web browsers.
Unity 2.0: Growing Features (2007)
Unity 2.0 came out in 2007 with about 50 new tools. It made 3D environments look more detailed. It also added real-time shadows and video playback. This version also helped developers work together more easily. It allowed them to create multiplayer games. When Apple launched its App Store in 2008, Unity quickly added support for the iPhone. For several years, Unity was the top choice for iPhone game makers.
Unity 3.0: Bigger and Better (2010)
Unity 3.0 was released in September 2010. It brought better graphics for computers and game consoles. It also added support for Android phones. This version included tools for better lighting and native font support. By 2012, over 1.3 million developers were using Unity. They were making games for phones, consoles, PCs, and the web. A survey in May 2012 showed Unity was the best game engine for mobile games.
Unity 4.0: New Tools (2012)
In November 2012, Unity Technologies released Unity 4.0. This update added support for DirectX 11 and Adobe Flash. It also brought new animation tools called Mecanim. Developers could also get a preview version for Linux.
In 2013, Facebook added tools for games made with Unity. These tools helped track ads and link users directly to parts of games. In 2016, Facebook worked with Unity on a new PC gaming platform. This made it easier for Unity developers to publish games on Facebook.
Unity 5: Major Improvements (2015)
When Unity 5 came out in 2015, many saw it as a big step forward. Unity 5 greatly improved lighting and sound in games. With WebGL, developers could put their games on web browsers. Players didn't need special plug-ins. Unity 5.0 offered real-time global lighting and a new audio system. It also included the Nvidia PhysX 3.3 physics engine. This version also added Cinematic Image Effects. These helped Unity games look more unique. Unity 5.6 added new lighting and particle effects. It also improved how well the engine performed. It added support for Nintendo Switch, Facebook Gameroom, and Google Daydream. It also supported the Vulkan graphics API. A 4K video player was added for 360-degree videos in virtual reality.
Some people felt that Unity's ease of use led to too many simple games. Former CEO John Riccitiello said this was a side effect of making game development open to everyone. He wanted to see even more people, including high school and college students, using Unity. He believed that creating things makes the world a better place.
Annual Updates: 2017 to 2023
In 2016, Unity Technologies changed how they named their versions. Instead of numbers like 5.6, they started using the year, like Unity 2017. This was because they were releasing updates more often. Unity 2017 added tools for real-time graphics and world-building. Unity 2017.2 showed Unity's plans beyond just video games. It added tools like Timeline for animations and Cinemachine for smart camera systems. It also made it easier to use tools from Autodesk like 3DS Max and Maya.
Unity 2018 brought the Scriptable Render Pipeline. This allowed developers to create amazing graphics. It included the High-Definition Rendering Pipeline (HDRP) for consoles and PCs. It also had the Lightweight Rendering Pipeline (now called Universal Render Pipeline or URP) for mobile and VR/AR. Unity 2018 also added machine learning tools. These tools let games learn from how real players play.
By 2020, games made with Unity were running on over 1.5 billion devices. Unity said that its engine powers half of all mobile games. These games are downloaded more than 3 billion times each month. About 15,000 new projects start with Unity every day. Popular games like Pokémon Go and Call of Duty: Mobile use Unity.
In 2020, Unity introduced the Mixed and Augmented Reality Studio (MARS). This helps developers create AR apps. Unity also released Unity Forma in December 2020. This tool helps car and retail companies. Unity also announced that its editor would work on Apple Silicon computers.
Unity 2021 added many new features. These included Bolt for visual scripting and a new multiplayer library. It also improved performance and added volumetric clouds for HDRP. For URP, it added new shadows and a deferred renderer. Full Apple Silicon support came with Unity 2021.2.
Unity 2022 focused on making developers more productive. It reduced the time to start playing games and import files. It also improved search and package management. For 2D projects, it made core software, animation, and physics faster. It also improved sprite atlasing and added support for PSD files.
Unity 6: The Next Step (2024)
In November 2023, Unity announced that the next version would be called Unity 6. It will go back to the old numbering style. Unity 6 is planned for release in 2024. It will include new generative AI tools called Unity Muse and Unity Sentis.
How Unity Works
Unity lets users create games and experiences in both 2D and 3D. The main way to program in Unity is using C#. You can also use a drag and drop system. Before C#, Unity also supported other languages like Boo and UnityScript. These were later removed or replaced by C#.
For 2D games, Unity can import sprites and has an advanced 2D world renderer. For 3D games, Unity lets you control how textures look. It supports features like bump mapping and reflection mapping. It also has dynamic shadows and full-screen effects.
Unity offers different ways to draw graphics. These are called High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) and Universal Render Pipeline (URP). There's also an older built-in pipeline. These pipelines are not compatible with each other. Unity provides a tool to help update older projects to URP or HDRP.
Creators can also make and sell game assets to others. This happens through the Unity Asset Store. It launched in 2010. By 2018, there were about 40 million downloads from the store.
What Devices Unity Supports
Unity is a cross-platform engine. This means it works on many different devices. The Unity editor itself runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The engine can build games for over 19 different platforms. These include mobile phones, computers, consoles, and virtual reality devices.
Unity 2020 LTS officially supports these platforms:
- Mobile: iOS, Android (Android TV), tvOS
- Desktop: Windows (Universal Windows Platform), Mac, Linux
- Web: WebGL
- Consoles: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
- Virtual/Extended Reality: Oculus, PlayStation VR, Google's ARCore, Apple's ARKit, Windows Mixed Reality (HoloLens), Magic Leap, and through Unity XR SDK Steam VR, Google Cardboard.
Unity used to support other platforms like Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 8. It also had its own web player plugin, but that was replaced by WebGL.
Unity was the main tool for Nintendo's Wii U console. Nintendo even included a free copy of Unity with each Wii U developer license. This was the first time a console company bundled a third-party game engine.
In August 2023, Unity China announced a special Chinese version. It's called Tuanjie Engine. It supports Chinese platforms like Weixin Mini Game and OpenHarmony.
How Unity is Licensed
For its first ten years, Unity's paid versions were sold once. In 2016, they changed to a subscription model. Unity has both free and paid options. The free license is for personal use or small companies that make less than $200,000 a year. The paid subscriptions depend on how much money games made with Unity earn. Paid versions also have extra features for professional projects. These include tools for checking performance and reporting errors.
The paid option, Unity Pro, was needed for developers earning over $200,000 annually. In May 2016, Unity released "Unity Plus." This was a middle option between the free and Pro versions. It offered tools for new companies making games for sale.
In June 2021, Unity changed its rules for console games. Any developer making games for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox needs a Unity Pro license. The engine's source code can be licensed in special cases.
What Unity is Used For
Video Games
Unity is used in many popular games. These include Pokémon Go, Monument Valley, Call of Duty: Mobile, Beat Saber, and Cuphead. Some early games made with Unity in 2007 were Splume and Magical Flying Pink Pony Game.
As of 2018, Unity was used to create about half of all mobile games. It also powered 60 percent of augmented reality and virtual reality content. This included 90 percent of content on new AR platforms like Microsoft HoloLens. Unity is a key technology for most VR and AR experiences. Unity Machine Learning Agents is a free software that connects Unity to machine learning programs. This lets virtual characters learn new strategies in games. This software is also used to develop robots and self-driving cars.
Beyond Gaming
In the 2010s, Unity Technologies started using its game engine in other industries. These include film and automotive. Unity first tried filmmaking with a short film called Adam. Later, Unity worked with filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. His studio used Unity's tools to create two computer-generated short films. In 2018, Disney Television Animation used Unity to create three shorts called Baymax Dreams. Unity was also used by Disney to make backgrounds for the 2019 film The Lion King.
Car makers use Unity to create full-size models of new cars in virtual reality. They also build virtual assembly lines and train workers. Unity's engine is used by DeepMind, an Alphabet Inc. company, to train artificial intelligence. Unity Technologies is also exploring uses in architecture, engineering, and construction.
Unity's Mascot
On December 16, 2013, Unity Technologies Japan introduced an official mascot. Her name is Unity-chan (ユニティちゃん, Yuniti-chan). Her real name is Kohaku Ōtori (大鳥 こはく, Ōtori Kohaku). Her game data was released in early 2014. Unity-chan was designed as an open-source heroine character. The company allows people to use Unity-chan in their own projects under certain rules. For example, Unity-chan appears as a playable character in the game Runbow.
See also
In Spanish: Unity (motor de videojuego) para niños
- List of game engines
- List of WebGL frameworks
