Unreal Engine 5 aims to put computer-generated photorealism at par with real life—and this vision aligns perfectly with that of Megascans, the largest library of photorealistic content in the world. In line with this, access to the entire Megascans library is completely free for Unreal Engine users, meaning there has never been a better time to join this open ecosystem made for all digital creators.

Starting today, we’re taking this one step further by making Quixel Bridge, the gateway to Megascans content, accessible directly inside of Unreal Engine 5 Early Access. This means the photoreal content you love is available to drag and drop straight into your Unreal Engine projects.

Here is an overview of the new experience:

Right inside the engine

As of Unreal Engine 5 Early Access, Bridge is now part of the Unreal Engine UI and opens up as a tab right within the engine. Open the Bridge panel and discover the ever-growing Megascans library. Get inspired by the latest assets, collections, and trending content right on the homepage, or simply search for the exact content you’re looking for. The navigation panel, search, and filter bars all help you find the perfect asset with ease. The entire experience is designed to minimize distractions so you can place the 3D content you want directly into your scene while staying locked into your creative vision.

Instant drag and drop

Bridge in Unreal Engine 5 Early Access makes all the latest Megascans content available for use instantly. You no longer need to wait for long downloads or tedious exports. Just drag and drop an asset from the Bridge panel into your scene to preview the asset instantly. Place, scale, rotate, and instance it to your liking while the high-res version gets downloaded in the background. When the high-res asset has downloaded, it will replace the preview automatically. This system is designed to work for assets of all sizes and is guaranteed to boost your productivity within Unreal Engine.

Optimized for Unreal Engine

We have optimized the entire Megascans library to work flawlessly with Unreal Engine 5. Assets are now channel packed, compressed with optimal settings, and LODed with Unreal Engine tools. We’re also simplifying tiers so that you never have to worry about configuring maps and LODs again. As a result, adding assets to your project is seamless and faster than ever before.

Nanite-ready

Through Bridge in Unreal Engine 5 Early Access, Megascans content present in a Nanite-ready tier. Say goodbye to poly counts and draw call budgets, as each Megascans asset is also optimized to work with the Nanite system in Unreal Engine. That means you can now add photorealistic, film-quality assets directly into your project without fear of compromising on performance or quality. See the Nanite system in action as part of Valley of the Ancient and this behind-the-scenes look at Lumen in the Land of Nanite. Learn more about Nanite.

A familiar feel

If you’ve used Bridge before, you’ll feel right at home here. Everything is organized just like the standalone Bridge app, with no loss of functionality. You still get powerful search and filtering options to find, organize, and download what you need instantly.

A living, breathing part of Unreal Engine 5

Bridge is built into Unreal Engine 5—no installation needed. Simply select Bridge from the brand new Content dropdown in the toolbar or from the Content Browser.

If you are getting Unreal Engine 5 Early Access through the Epic Games Launcher, you’ll also get updates through Launcher. And if you are custom-building Unreal Engine 5 from source, you’ll get the latest version of every source update.

Bridge for Unreal Engine works with your Epic Games account and currently supports the Unreal Unlimited plan. You can log in using your existing account or sign up for a new one for free, unlimited access to the Megascans library.

Join the next generation of artists

Get your hands on the Unreal Engine 5 Early Access today for the all-new Bridge experience. Unreal Engine 5 is expected to ship in early 2022 and will empower creators across all industries to deliver stunning real-time content and experiences. The Early Access build offers game developers the opportunity to start testing features and prototyping their upcoming games with features such as Nanite and Lumen for next-gen visual fidelity and the new World Partition system that allows for the creation of expansive worlds with ease.

You can download Valley of the Ancient resources from the UE5 tab of the Epic Games Launcher. This next-gen, real-time demo is made in Unreal Engine 5 Early Access with the help of Megascans content scanned in the Moab Canyon Pathway in Utah and available in the library. You can also drop by the new Bridge for Unreal Engine showcase page.

See the complete announcement of Unreal Engine 5 Early Access here:

The team is very excited about the future of Bridge in Unreal Engine. Stay tuned for more in the days to come.

Team Quixel