Game developers want to incorporate 3D elements in their 2D games. We want to make sure you can do this using standard 2D tools and workflows.
As of Unity 6.3, the 2D Renderer supports rendering Mesh Renderer and Skinned Mesh Renderer components using 2D URP workflows. This makes it possible to combine 3D meshes and sprites within the same 2D scene.
These renderers can receive lighting from 2D Lights, interact with Sprite Masks, and be sorted with sprites.
Key considerations:
For Mesh Renderer or Skinned Mesh Renderer to be compatible with 2D URP features, they must utilize a compatible material. This can be achieved either by using the Mesh2D-Lit-Default shader or by creating a custom shader in Shader Graph, using the Sprite Lit, Sprite Unlit, or Sprite Custom Lit master nodes.
To ensure proper functionality with 2D features like lighting and masking, as well as correct sorting with sprites, enable the “Sort 3D As 2D compatible” option in the Graph Inspector when creating a shader for a Mesh Renderer or Skinned Mesh Renderer.
Sorting by Sorting Layer and Order in Layer is available when you enable Sort 3D As 2D on a Sorting Group.
In this workflow, all meshes in the group are first rendered together, then sorted with sprites according to their layer and order values. This is useful for characters with swappable parts or other types of assets that need to render as a single unit.
Known limitations:
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Enabling Sort 3D as 2D clears the object’s depth, which means it cannot be used with depth-based post-processing effects.
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Doesn’t work with 3D lighting, since it uses 2D materials.
Try it out!
Try out rendering 3D as 2D in Unity 6.3 Beta and let us know what you think. We want to know what works as expected, what doesn’t and what’s missing.
