Last November during our Unite 2023 Keynote, we announced that we were making changes to our release naming convention, and starting with our next release Unity 2023 LTS will become Unity 6.
Unity 6 is scheduled to launch later this year and will include all the features from Unity 6 Beta (2023.3.0b11), 2023.1, and 2023.2. Coming up this Spring is Unity 6 Preview, the new name for what was previously known as the 2023.3 Tech Stream.
What are the new names?
In case you missed it, last fall we announced that we were adding a third Tech Stream (2023.3) to deliver you more meaningful upgrades. Adding this extra Tech Stream allowed us to bring you some critical developments, particularly in the areas of graphic performance, artist workflows, platform integrations, and a more comprehensive integration of multiplayer options.
The term “Tech Stream” caused confusion amongst some users, particularly new creators. Moving to the new name of Unity 6 also allowed us to change our naming schemes for interim releases to better convey the purpose and intended usage of a particular release.
We will now publish three major types of release:
- Beta (i.e. Unity 6 Beta): These are publicly available releases of the Unity Engine containing an early look at new and changed features. As an industry standard, Beta indicates that these changes may be unpolished and have not gone through rigorous testing, and are not guaranteed of shipping in production.
Recommended for getting your hands on new features and playing around with them before they’re fully released. NOT recommended for production use.
- Preview (i.e. Unity 6 Preview): Previously known as a “Tech Stream”, Preview releases give you a headstart to using locked, production-supported features before full general availability. In some other software, this could be considered a “release candidate” but because we plan to spend months of more testing time, we went with the term Preview. We will NOT add any new features or make breaking changes following the release of the Preview.
Recommended for teams with long development cycles who intend to move to the latest generally available version of the Unity Engine. Recommended for production use, and will be supported until the full release.
- “Full release”: This is the “General Availability” release of the Unity Engine. It includes all features found in the Unity 6 Preview, along with fixes and updates from the additional stabilization and testing time.
We will no longer add a suffix of LTS (Long Term Support) to the product name in favor of keeping it clean and simple. But it will receive the same level support you enjoy with our current LTS releases. So, when it is released later in 2024, the next release will simply be called Unity 6.
Recommended for all users of Unity.
Unity 6 version numbering
We have started to implement the new name change along with the version numbering in the engine and ecosystem, starting with Unity 6 Beta. We will continue to roll out version numbering changes for Unity 6 Preview and Unity 6 launch as they release.
* Where N is a placeholder for the build number.
Where are the changes visible?
Below are areas where you can expect to see the new technical version numbering for Unity 6 Beta.
Editor
- Splashscreen: shows new Unity 6 branding, the new product name and the new product version.
- Editor title bar: show the product name in addition to the product version.
E.g. “… - Unity 6 Beta (6000.0.0b11)…” - About window: shows both the new product name and new product version.
HUB
- Installs tab: items listed show the new product name as well as the product version. E.g. Unity 6 Beta / 6000.0.0b11.
- Projects tab: versions under the Editor Version column have the new version.
E.g. 6000.0.0b11. Similarly, the Editor Version shown in the New project window.
Code / APIs
-
C# Version API: will return the new product version as is. E.g. “6000.0.0b11”
-
C# Preprocessor symbols: updated for new product version. E.g. UNITY_6000, UNITY_6000_0, UNITY_6000_0_OR_NEWER
-
Shader preprocessor symbols: is updated for 6000.0.0 according to the following scheme:
#define UNITY_VERSION major10.000.000 + minor10.000 + patch
E.g.
60.000.000 for 6000.0.0b11
60.021.234 for 6000.2.1234f1
However, note that at this time it is still clamped to 202329 for 2023.2.9 (as it has been throughout the 2023.3 beta).
Release metadata / APIs
-
RSS feeds: existing RSS feeds show the new product versions. (e.g. 6000.0.0b11), but not the new product names.
-
GraphQL release API: Nodes in queries `getUnityReleases ()’ can now include a productName, which will be populated accordingly with the new product name (e.g. Unity 6 Beta). The existing version attribute will be populated with the new product version (e.g. 6000.0.0b11).
Web portals
- Beta mini-site: now references the new product name and version number.
- Unity download archive: no impact during beta, but will start showing a 6000.0 tab once Unity 6 Preview is released.
- Issue Tracker: versions from 6000.0.0b11 will start showing, but 2023.3.0b1 to 2023.3.010 will remain. I.e. 6000.0.0b11 is a direct continuation of the same stream.
Documentation:
- Documentation for Unity 6 Beta is available at: Unity - Manual: Unity 6 Preview User Manual.
- Additional support for “docs.unity3d.com/6/Documentation/Manual/index.html” will be added at a later date.
- URLs pointing to “docs.unity3d.com/2023.3” will be redirected to “docs.unity3d.com/6000.0” automatically.
- All mentions of 2023.3 within Unity documentation (including Package docs) will be updated with 6000.0 in phases in the coming weeks.
- The label for Unity 6 used in the documentation version display and version switcher will refer to Unity 6 Beta, Unity 6 Beta (6000.0), or 6000.0, instead of 2023.3.
Note: Older Unity documentation sets such as Unity 2022.1, 2022.2 will not be updated to refer to Unity 6.
Stay informed on Unity 6
Unity 6 will deliver elevated graphical performance, accelerated multiplayer workflows, dynamic AI capabilities, and deeper support for the mobile Web and new XR platforms.
Make sure to sign up here to get alerted of the launch of Unity Preview, as well as the Unity 6 launch and more.
Runtime Fee​:sparkles: be applied to Unity 6 beta and preview?