Initially released in 2019, Gaea takes an artist-friendly approach to terrain design in games, combining powerful procedural controls with various direct data input methods. Besides creating and editing conventional scenes, users can manipulate terrain shapes using a Photoshop-like layer system or through direct sculpting. The software includes a procedural erosion system, simulating snow, landslides, and sediments, which can even be used for fine detail sculpting. After creating the terrain, it can be exported as a mesh, point cloud, or heightmap, offering different levels of detail or variations via an integrated terrain change system.
Gaea is used for game development and visual effects. According to QuadSpinner representatives, Gaea 2 features a significant overhaul of the software core, promising a "several orders of magnitude" performance boost. Apart from code optimization, some processes have been GPU-accelerated with CPU fallback. The node graph has been redesigned to reduce the learning curve for new users, and new node modifiers will enable easier terrain generation. Users can also create custom tools using macros and scripts.

In the release, the terrain design workflow has been reimagined to "tackle the biggest issues artists face in achieving control over procedural forms." The "primitive + lookdev" workflow from Gaea 1 has been replaced with what QuadSpinner calls "primitive + landscapes + surfaces." In Gaea 2.0, new Surface nodes apply finer erosion effects to parts of the terrain after its generation, turning terrain design into a multi-step and scalable process.
This philosophy of scalable design extends to very large environments, and a new "God" mode allows you to modify parts of the world and make its environment react to changes. According to QuadSpinner representatives, this new workflow allows you to control biomes within the world independently while maintaining their shared procedural characteristics. Artists work with an infinite base terrain, using the new workflow, with the option to export the terrain as a hybrid resolution mesh friendly to Nanite - the virtual geometry system of Unreal Engine 5. For teams, the system supports concurrent multi-user editing of different parts of the world while preserving source data control.

Among other new features is the Erosion 2 algorithm, capable of creating shapes previously unavailable in Gaea and better preserving the original terrain character. It works alongside the existing Erosion 1 algorithm but is significantly faster, boasting a speed increase of "up to 10 times."

Performance comparisons for QuadSpinner for various terrain types can be seen above.

Additionally, Gaea 2.0 will come with a "full-fledged" bridge to Unreal Engine 5. Apart from the simple export of terrain to the game engine, which can be done as a height field or 3D mesh, along with a materials bridge, there will be an option for editing terrain in UE5. Users can select properties from the Gaea project that will remain editable in Unreal Engine or use the new set of Unreal Engine Gaea Terrain Modifiers to make further adjustments.

Gaea 2.0 is not backward compatible, but new users will receive a "substantial discount" on the upgrade and can continue using their Gaea 1 license in parallel with Gaea 2 even after upgrading. Gaea 2.0 is Windows-only. It is set to be released at the "end of the first quarter of 2024," with pre-orders starting on November 24, 2023.

The pricing remains unchanged compared to Gaea 1.x. There is a free Community Edition that is licensed for commercial use and provides access to most key features but has an export resolution limitation at 1K. The Indie version with a 4K resolution costs $99, while the Professional and Enterprise versions, which offer an 8K resolution and additional features, are priced at $199 and $299, respectively, even after the upgrade.