Modular Game Features in UE5: plug ‘n play, the Unreal Way

Unreal Engine 5 introduces Modular Game Features, a system that lets you inject new content and experiences into your game via a plugin architecture. The Modular Game Feature is created in such a way that the core game is completely unaware of its existence, eliminating the need for creating dependencies from the game to the new content. This system brings quite a few benefits: they are easy to manage as they can be freely turned on and off at any time without breaking the game. They can be used for multiple purposes, such as adding new game play mechanics, in game items, or even entirely new areas in the game world.

This new functionality is a huge win for games that follow the “games-as-a-service” model, where new content comes and goes, and new features are worked on in parallel to the current releases. For example, Modular Game Features are heavily used in Fortnite as they are instrumental in enabling the addition and removal of the vast volume of content that cycles in and out of the game on a seasonal and daily basis.

In this feature video, Krzysztof Pachulski, Programmer and Evangelist, provides a walkthrough of Modular Game Feature creation, and then demonstrates a number of different implementations of content as Modular Game Features in the form of new items, new abilities, and new world locations.