{"id":1038761,"date":"2020-10-15T13:07:18","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T20:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1038761"},"modified":"2020-10-19T10:55:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T17:55:42","slug":"announcing-the-first-beta-release-of-the-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-game-engines","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/developers\/announcements\/announcing-the-first-beta-release-of-the-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-game-engines","title":{"rendered":"Announcing the first beta release of the ArcGIS Maps SDK for game engines"},"author":4091,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23771,37101,738191],"tags":[757161,757141,757151,757171,757181],"industry":[],"product":[36601],"class_list":["post-1038761","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-gis","category-announcements","category-developers","tag-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-game-engines","tag-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-unity","tag-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-unreal-engine","tag-unity","tag-unreal-engine","product-developers"],"acf":{"short_description":"We are excited to announce the first beta release of the ArcGIS Maps SDK for game engines, supporting both Unity and Unreal Engine! ","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

We are excited to announce the first beta release of the ArcGIS Maps SDK for game engines, supporting both Unity and Unreal Engine!<\/p>\n

Over the past few years we\u2019ve seen many industries and organizations pursue their next generation of 3D GIS solutions.\u00a0 \u00a0As these solutions apply to the real-world, they need to utilize authoritative geospatial systems while taking advantage of new technologies to gather, store, and visualize geospatial information. \u00a0\u00a0These new, modern 3D GIS solutions include client applications that target specific workflows which require photo-realistic experiences driven by real-world data.\u00a0\u00a0 These applications need to take advantage of high-end graphics capabilities on modern devices and utilize hardware designed specifically to support extended reality (XR) experiences.\u00a0\u00a0 They need to be highly interactive, visually compelling, and deeply immersive to increase engagement, improve understanding, and optimize the experience for making decisions.\u00a0 Operationally, they need to support modeling and simulation scenarios and quickly render real-time geospatial information.<\/p>\n

As Esri is the global leader in GIS, industries and organizations look to Esri to deliver world-class software and solutions to support use of authoritative geospatial data and analytics.\u00a0 \u00a0Many of these industries and organizations, most notably in the AEC, defense, natural resources, and transportation sectors, are choosing to use game engines to power their photo-realistic, interactive, and immersive 3D GIS applications.\u00a0\u00a0 As game engines have traditionally targeted gaming experiences, it was essential that they deliver high-performance, premium rendering experiences, and engaging special effects.\u00a0 The highly competitive nature of the gaming industry helped push game technology and associated content and hardware to the limits of their abilities.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0As such, years of development have been invested by successful game engine vendors to build out premium, high-definition rendering pipelines to deliver simulated world experiences, optimized for multiple platforms and form factors. \u00a0\u00a0The introduction of high fidelity assets, physics engines, animation properties, atmospheric, water, and other special effects has enabled some game engines to deliver beautiful, photo-realistic, cutting edge visuals that appear and operate nearly identical to the real world.\u00a0 \u00a0Game engines also support targeting a wide variety of desktop and mobile platforms, and dedicated, specialized hardware.\u00a0\u00a0 Part of the next generation of 3D GIS solutions includes business use of headsets dedicated to extended reality workflows, such as HoloLens, Oculus Quest, and HTC Vive.\u00a0 Game engines are built to support the responsiveness, frame rates, and fidelity needed to power these experiences.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the first beta release of the ArcGIS Maps SDK integrates with the two best-of-breed, market leading game engines, Unity and Epic\u2019s Unreal Engine.\u00a0 \u00a0Two new products, ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity<\/strong> and ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unreal Engine<\/strong>, are available as plugins to provide direct access to ArcGIS services and data.\u00a0\u00a0 To deliver the best experience possible, we\u2019re working with Unity\u2019s geospatial team and Epic\u2019s Unreal Engine development team to enable and optimize access to Esri\u2019s geospatial platform.\u00a0 We\u2019re very excited about our collaboration with both Unity and Epic and look forward to vast opportunities in this space going forward.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1038771,"id":1038771,"title":"Unity_MtRainier","filename":"Unity_MtRainer_002-scaled.jpg","filesize":503360,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/developers\/announcements\/announcing-the-first-beta-release-of-the-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-game-engines\/unity_mtrainer_002","alt":"Unity_MtRainier","author":"4091","description":"Visualization of high-resolution, global imagery and elevation hosted by ArcGIS Online with \nArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity (Mount Rainier, Washington, US)\n","caption":"Visualization of high-resolution, global imagery and elevation hosted by ArcGIS Online with \nArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity (Mount Rainier, Washington, US)\n","name":"unity_mtrainer_002","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1038761,"date":"2020-10-15 05:12:30","modified":"2020-10-17 07:55:31","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-scaled.jpg","medium-width":418,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-scaled.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-scaled.jpg","large-width":1728,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-1536x960.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":960,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-2048x1280.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1280,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-744x465.jpg","card_image-width":744,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unity_MtRainer_002-1728x1080.jpg","wide_image-width":1728,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

\u201cAs gaming technology is increasingly adopted in many industrial sectors including AEC, government, energy, and transportation, we are excited to partner with Esri to bridge the world of GIS and real-time 3D.<\/em><\/p>\n

The addition of Esri\u2019s best-in-class real-world geospatial data into Unity\u2019s real-time 3D development platform will help create real-time digital twins of an unprecedented scale, to better operate and manage massive infrastructure and entire cities in immersive environments.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

– Julien Faure, GM & VP – Industrial & M&E, <\/em>
\nUnity Technologies<\/em><\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1038851,"id":1038851,"title":"Unreal_NY","filename":"Unreal_NY_005-scaled.jpg","filesize":565444,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/developers\/announcements\/announcing-the-first-beta-release-of-the-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-game-engines\/unreal_ny_005","alt":"Unreal_NY","author":"4091","description":"Visualization of aerial imagery, elevation, operational data showing transit frequency, and 3D structures in a global scene with ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unreal Engine \n(New York, US)","caption":"Visualization of aerial imagery, elevation, operational data showing transit frequency, and 3D structures in a global scene with ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unreal Engine \n(New York, US)","name":"unreal_ny_005","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1038761,"date":"2020-10-15 05:23:54","modified":"2020-10-17 07:59:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-scaled.jpg","medium-width":418,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-scaled.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-scaled.jpg","large-width":1728,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-1536x960.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":960,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-2048x1280.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1280,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-744x465.jpg","card_image-width":744,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Unreal_NY_005-1728x1080.jpg","wide_image-width":1728,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

“As the needs of the geo-intelligence community continue to grow, training, simulation, architecture, and urban planning projects are creating new challenges for software solution providers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Esri’s new plugin for Unreal Engine will allow ArcGIS users to experience virtual environments in entirely new ways and will equip them to meet the ever-rising demand for innovation.”<\/em><\/p>\n

– S\u00e9bastien Loz\u00e9, Simulations Industry Manager,
\nEpic Games<\/em><\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s dig into the capabilities of the ArcGIS Maps SDKs to set expectations for this first public beta. Keep in mind, functionality delivered in the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Unity and Unreal Engine is equal, while the functionality and the capabilities of the editors and engines themselves may be different.<\/p>\n

Development in the Unity or Unreal Engine editor is supported on Windows and macOS. Although both engines support developing apps for a variety of platforms, with this first beta release you\u2019ll only be able to build apps that target Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It is important to note that support for Windows includes 64-bit apps on desktops and 32 and 64 bit UWP apps, which means we support use with first and second generation HoloLens devices.<\/p>\n

Both local and global experiences are available. Local scenes support display of geographic data on planar surface, and can work with different projected coordinate systems \u2013 usually appropriate for smaller, local areas. Global scenes support the display of geographic data on a sphere or globe \u2013 usually appropriate for large areas or regions. Other content, game objects, actors, can participate in these scenes, but they must participate within the geographic coordinate space and the camera control established by the ArcGIS Maps SDK plugin.<\/p>\n

ArcGIS data sources accessible by the plugins include:<\/p>\n