A Frame’s Life: Frame Timing, Synchronization, and Latency in UE | Unreal Fest Chicago 2026

Every frame in Unreal Engine goes on a long journey before reaching the screen. In this session recorded at Unreal Fest Chicago 2026, we walk through that journey, from gameplay code through the game thread, render thread, RHI thread, DirectX, the GPU, and finally onto the display.

We explore how these stages synchronize, how frames are queued and presented, and how small decisions can add measurable latency. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of frame pacing, vsync, VRR, swap chains, input delay, and Unreal Engine’s game thread synchronization options, so you can make more informed decisions on the tradeoffs between performance and responsiveness.

Find out more about using Unreal Engine to develop games here: unrealengine.com/uses/games

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