How do you get the new version of Unity 4.2? It’s simple. Visit http://unity3d.com/unity/download/ and you can download it. Plus, it includes a 30 day trial of Unity Pro. (In case you weren’t aware, students and faculty can buy Unity Pro at large educational discounts.) Unity has been working on this new release for quite a while and we are excited that now it is here. One of the major goals Unity had for release was to make as many of the great Unity features available to an even larger audience.

Double the Platforms

Unity has doubled the platforms that they support. The newest platforms include Windows store apps, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8. In version Unity 4.2, users of the free version can publish their work to any platform they choose. This includes iOS, Android and those mentioned above. The best part is there is no additional cost for this. There are advanced features to assist in deploying available at the Unity store.

Pro Features Now Included

Unity has made some features of the Unity Pro version available in the free release of Unity 4.2. These features include NavMesh baking, Realtime one-directional light hard shadows and Text-based realization of scenes, prefabs, materials, etc. Plus there are new features for graphics, the editor, audio, mobile, Mac, mecanim and Linux. Read more.

Unity 4.2 brings amazing new improvements like easier asset customization and in-game avatar personalization. There are numerous improvements to image affects and much more. Very exciting news indeed! Unity Technologies also makes a point to focus on academic offerings for Unity. Plus there are great resources to help you get started: The Unity learn resource center, basic tutorials and on-demand webinars that explain how Unity can be used in a classroom setting to bring STEM education to life with game design.