Twinmotion 2026.2 Preview: MegaLights, Realistic Night Skies and Cryptomatte

Epic Games has released Twinmotion 2026.2, its Unreal Engine-based real-time visualization software, as a Preview. According to the release notes published on Epic’s developer portal at the end of August 2026, the update adds the MegaLights shadow mode, a physically based night sky, aurora borealis, EXR cryptomatte output, the Scalers animation tool and an expanded Interchange import system. The Preview is available to download through the Epic Games Launcher.

Twinmotion is widely used in architecture offices to quickly create still images, animations and panoramas from Revit, Archicad, SketchUp and Rhino models. Version 2026.2 brings notable updates, particularly for night scenes and projects with extensive artificial lighting.

MegaLights: many shadow-casting lights

MegaLights, a technology from Unreal Engine, has been added to Twinmotion as a new shadow mode in the Render settings. According to Epic, the mode makes it possible to use many shadow-casting lights in a scene without sacrificing performance. MegaLights works with the Standard and Lumen render modes and requires hardware ray tracing support.

In architectural visualization, this could make a difference in interiors with numerous spot and linear fixtures, such as hotel lobbies, shopping centers, office floors and restaurants. Until now, it has been common to disable shadows for some lights due to performance concerns.

Night skies and aurora borealis

The night lighting system has been overhauled to deliver more realistic, physically based results. In Realistic mode, the new Night sky settings let users display:

• The moon’s actual position and phases

• Stars and the Milky Way

• Improved exposure during the transition from day to night

A new Aurora Borealis effect has also been added for polar night scenes, with controls for animation, intensity and color. Rendering a night scene with moonlight that matches the project’s location and date can make night visuals for residential and hotel projects more realistic.

Cryptomatte and post-production

Twinmotion can now export cryptomatte in EXR format, allowing users to isolate and retouch individual objects in complex scenes. Supported options include:

This feature saves time for visualization artists who want to color-correct facade materials, landscaping or furniture separately in post-production software. A workflow familiar from offline render engines is now available in Twinmotion, too.

Importing: new formats, farewell to old ones

GLB, GLTF and SKP have been added to the Interchange import system. However, the legacy importer has been removed entirely. As a result, formats such as 3DS, C4D, DAE, DXF and STL are no longer supported, according to the release notes.

Other additions include the procedural Scalers animator, which grows, shrinks or vibrates objects over time; the ability to assign scene objects to a Custom Path without converting them into a library; 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse support for macOS; and geospatial coordinate input in DD, DDM and DMS formats.

Impact on archviz workflows and things to watch for

Preview releases are intended for testing. In the release notes, Epic lists known issues including render artifacts in night sky features, inconsistencies in Direct Link synchronization and animator playback problems in some modes. Projects created or saved in Twinmotion 2026.2 Preview also won’t open in previous versions.

The removal of support for legacy formats directly affects offices working with archived 3DS, DXF or DAE files. These files will need to be converted to FBX, GLB or another supported format before upgrading. MegaLights’ hardware ray tracing requirement also means teams should check their workstations.

For offices interested in trying the Preview, a sensible approach is to test only the new features on a copy of a real project. For example, in a hotel or restaurant project, teams can enable shadows for all fixtures using MegaLights and compare performance, set up a moonlight scenario that matches the project’s location using the night sky settings, and test cryptomatte output in the office’s post-production workflow. This can make the transition easier when the stable release arrives.

Teams using live synchronization from Revit, Archicad or SketchUp through Direct Link should also keep the synchronization inconsistencies noted in the release notes in mind. For these projects, testing the Preview with a small model before making it part of the main workflow is safer. It’s also worth checking the known issues list again when the stable release is published to help plan the transition more effectively.