Unreal Engine 4.3 includes Metal API for iOS 8

Version 4.3 of Unreal Engine has added a variety of new features, including support for Apple’s Metal API.

Announced last month, this API allows developers to achieve more with high-end graphics on iOS devices without increasing the processing costs. Epic Games even demonstrated the technology working with Unreal Engine 4 in real-time during Apple’s keynote.

Metal will be part of iOS 8, which launches this autumn. It will not be enabled by default un Unreal 4.3 at first, but devs can activate it via their game’s project settings.

Unity has already confirmed it will support Metal. 

Other new features include SpeedTree integration, new rendering settings, world composition tools, time-warping for Oculus Rift and a preview of Paper2D, Epic’s new 2D toolset.

You can find a full list of Unreal Engine 4.3 features at the official website.

Unreal Engine 4 was announced and launched at GDC 2014 back in March. It introduces a new subscription model, giving devs access to Epic Games’ technology – including the engine’s source code – for $19 per month.

It was ranked as the most popular engine by industry tech experts in Develop 100: The Tech List.