Keep The Unreal Engine 5 Showcases Coming, Please

I love Unreal Engine 5 showcase videos. Can’t get enough of them. To be clear, I don’t even care how playable any of them ever end up being, because this is an art feature, not a games review section, and so all I care about is how pretty they look, and tonight’s showcase is very pretty indeed.

This is Airbornea video made by Airborn Studios, an art studio in Berlin who we’ve featured a few times previously, including for their incredible work on some of Overwatch’s skins:

After a hibernation phase of many years, we made the call to revisit the project that our studio is named after. Wondering what it would be like if we dive back into that world with new ideas, a different approach, a mix of Airborne veterans and new team members, and the determination to use the latest technology to push stylized game art and stay true to the core pillars of the work that was done way back. And without further ado, we proudly present the result!

When they say a “hibernation phase”, they aren’t kidding: Airborne as an idea has been kicking around for over 15 years now, with this latest video just the most contemporary expression of the idea that gave the studio its name.

It’s important to note here that this isn’t a game pitch in the sense that this is something that’s actively trying to be made. Instead — they’ve called it a “visual prototype” in this case — it’s a way for artists to be able to work on something that looks like a video game in order to showcase their skills, all the while creating something that’s theirsnot the IP of an employer or a client.

To give you an idea of ​​how much work goes into something like, here’s the full credits list for the project:

Airborn Studios

Alexander Delagrange – 3D Env/Prop Art

Alexandra Graap – 3D Character Art

Artur Rosario – Tech Art

Benjamin Sauder – Technical Director

Boris Patschull – Managing Director

Ching Rappsilber-Li – Management Assistant

Erik Neubauer – 3D Character Art

Fatos Tahiraj – 3D Character Art

Gabriel Hanna – 3D Env/Prop Art

Ilka Hesche – Concept art

Jan Wyss – 3D Env/Prop Art

João Sapiro Josue – 3D Env/Prop Art

Johannes Figlhuber – Art Direction & Concept Art

Jonas Kunert – 3D Env/Prop Art & Concept Art

Julian Dasgupta – Project Management & PR

Kevin Skok – 3D Env/Prop Art

Lennart Berger – 3D Character Art

Malwina Czech – 3D Env/Prop Art

Manuel Sitompul – 3D Character Art

Manuel Virks – 3D Level Lead

Niels Timmerman – 3D Character Art

Simon Kopp – Art Direction & Concept Art

Steffen Unger – 3D Character Lead

Svenja Roesner – 3D Env/Prop Art

Tim Moreels – 3D Character Art

Verena Porcher – Website Relaunch Coordination

Victor Pancrazi – 3D Character Art

Music

Ian Dorsch

Funkeyz Animation Studio

Shuki Gamliel – Animation Supervisor

Sonia Wolfson – Animation

Arthur Kazine – Animation

Michael Fabris – Rigging

SkewSound

Dan Crislip – Audio Director

Christopher Wilson – Sound Design

Nicholas Kallman – Sound Design

Steve Pardo – Sound Design

Production Babies

Joshua (Yoshi)

special thanks

Adina Krause

Ezgi Bulut

Josh Dinah

matthew schneider

If you’d like to learn a little more about Airborne and its creation, the team have written a short blog about the process, but were also kind enough to share a ton of behind the scenes pieces from the video’s creation, ranging from character designs to airship renders: