> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Godot 4.0 Release Might Persuade Developers to Switch Away From Unreal, Unity, and Other Game Engines - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/godot-4-0-release/ - Published: 2023-03-03T03:53:54.000Z - Updated: 2023-03-03T03:53:54.000Z - Description: Godot 4.0 is an excellent upgrade to make more game developers consider it an alternative worth trying. - Author: Sourav Rudra - Tags: Application Releases, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15 [Godot](https://godotengine.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) is an open-source, community-driven 2D/3D game engine that has received a lot of praise from the gaming industry. After all, it is an **alternative FOSS solution** that can help developers break ties with proprietary options like Unreal, Unity, and other game engines. Now, after **over three years of development**, a completely overhauled Godot release features a complete engine rewrite and more. Allow me to take you through this expansive release. ## Godot 4.0: What's New? A lot, actually, let me take you through the highlights of this release: - **Vulkan & OpenGL Rendering** - **AMD FidelityFX Support** - **Improved Lighting & Shadows** - **New 2D Level-Editing Tools** - **3D Improvements** - **Major Physics Upgrade** - **Improved Animation Editor** - **UI & Editor Improvements** ### Vulkan & OpenGL Rendering ![a screenshot of godot 4.0's rendering capabilities](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_vulkan_opengl_rendering.jpg) Godot now features **two new Vulkan backends** (Clustered and Mobile), allowing for more advanced rendering and optimized performance. They have also considered users with less powerful hardware and have **integrated OpenGL-based compatibility rendering**. Work is also ongoing on a Direct3D 12 renderer for Windows and Xbox support. ### AMD FidelityFX Support To complement the rendering improvements, one of the contributors of Godot has [added support](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/51679?ref=itsfoss.com) for AMD's [FidelityFX Super Resolution](https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/fidelityfx-super-resolution?ref=itsfoss.com) (FSR 1.0) tech. This should enable a smooth and dynamic render experience at lower resolutions, keeping games running smoothly. 📝 They also teased support for FSR 2.1 in future releases. ### Improved Lighting & Shadows ![a screenshot of the improved lighting and shadows on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_lighting_shadows.jpg) The global illumination systems of Godot have been completely remade with support for a new global illumination technique called '**SDFGI**'. It stands for **Signed Distance Field Global Illumination**; you can learn more about it [here](https://godotengine.org/article/godot-40-gets-sdf-based-real-time-global-illumination/?ref=itsfoss.com). Other than that, the **rendering of shadows on Godot has been dramatically improved**, with better control over it. ### New 2D Level-Editing Tools ![a screenshot of the improved 2d level-editing tooling on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_2D_Improv.jpg) A new tilemap editor has been introduced that was introduced based on the Godot community's requests and reports. Godot's 2D editor maintainer, **Gilles Roudière** has united the workflow for tilesets and tilemaps, resulting in **a very flexible tile placing experience**. You can fine-tune them too, with options to tweak the navigation, pivot points, collisions, and more. This should **come in handy for indie developers** who solely develop 2D games and can now stop relying on proprietary tools. ### 3D Improvements ![a screenshot of the new volumetric fog effect on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_volumetric_fog.jpg) The accuracy of 3D scenes can now be augmented even more thanks to the **new Volumetric fog effect**. It can be configured globally or be defined for specific areas using the 'FogVolume' nodes. In addition, new noise textures were backported from Godot 3.5, and **support for decals was added** that allows you to place materials on surfaces to decorate the environment. ### Major Physics Upgrade ![a screenshot of the physics demo of godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_Physics.jpg) Godot's in-house 3D physics engine, **'Godot Physics'**, has made a comeback! It replaces the **'Bullet'** physics engine for more flexibility when implementing new features and addressing issues. ### Improved Animation Editor ![a screenshot of the improved animation editor on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_Animation.jpg) The animation editor now supports blend shape tracks, and an **improved Bezier curve workflow**. It also allows you to select/edit multiple curves simultaneously, hide individual tracks, and more. ### UI & Editor Improvements ![a screenshot of the multi-window support on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_UI_Multiwindow.jpg) Godot 4.0 has introduced support for multiple windows per application. The developers using Godot can now breathe a sigh of relief. ![a screenshot of the new visual widget picker on godot 4.0](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/03/Godot_4.0_UI_Widgets.jpg) The UI editor has also improved with a new visual widget for picking layout options, and quickly resizing selected UI components. ### 🛠️ Other Changes & Improvements As I mentioned, there are tons of refinements with Godot 4.0\. So, I only highlighted the best parts. If you are curious, I suggest you go through the [release notes](https://godotengine.org/article/godot-4-0-sets-sail/?ref=itsfoss.com) to get all the details. ## 📥 Get Godot 4.0 You can head over to the [official site](https://godotengine.org/download/?ref=itsfoss.com) to download the package of your choice as per your platform. [Download Godot 4.0 (GitHub)](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/releases/tag/4.0-stable?ref=itsfoss.com)