Unity 6.1 introduced numerous improvements, especially important for CG artists. Key new features include 3D water deformation in HDRP, support for Deferred+ rendering in URP, improved rendering performance, Variable Rate Shading support, and experimental integration of WebGPU for browser games.

Below are five key innovations that should be mentioned in the release.

HDRP: 3D water deformation and wave motion effects.
The water system in the High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) now supports horizontal surface deformation. This enables the creation of more complex effects, such as realistic breaking waves. A new demo scene featuring an underground cave has also been added, showcasing deformation and caustic effects.

URP: Deferred+ rendering for more efficient lighting management.
The Universal Render Pipeline (URP) now supports the Deferred+ mode, which reduces memory usage and improves performance when handling a large number of light sources. This technology uses clustered light culling and the GPU Resident Drawer introduced in Unity 6.

URP/HDRP: smoother lightmaps with bicubic sampling.
Both rendering pipelines now support bicubic sampling for lightmaps, which helps soften sharp shadow edges, especially at low lightmap resolutions. This improves visual quality, although it increases system load.

URP/HDRP: rendering acceleration and Variable Rate Shading (VRS) support.
Unity 6.1 introduces Variable Rate Shading support, which allows dynamic adjustment of shading resolution across different screen areas. This reduces GPU load without compromising image quality. Support is implemented via Vulkan on Android and PC, DirectX 12 on Xbox and PC, and also on PlayStation 5 Pro.

Browser games: experimental WebGPU support.
Unity 6.1 introduces experimental support for WebGPU, the next evolution beyond WebGL. WebGPU enables the use of modern graphics APIs like DirectX 12, Vulkan, and Metal, providing access to GPU compute capabilities for browser games. However, this technology is not yet supported by all browsers and has limitations, so its use in production is currently not recommended.

Among other improvements: integration of the Project Auditor tool for project quality analysis, updates to Build Automation in the editor, support for Instant Games on Facebook, as well as optimizations for mobile devices with large or foldable screens. In AR/VR, Android XR support and new build profiles for Meta Quest have been added.

Unity 6.1 is now available for download. The editor is compatible with Windows 10 and later, macOS 11.0 and later, and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04. Free Personal subscriptions are available for artists and small studios earning up to $200,000 per year, while the Pro subscription costs $2,200 per year. Enterprise subscriptions with custom terms are offered for large studios.