--- title: Jolt Physics Just Keeps Getting Better! | daily.dev description: Jolt Physics 5.6 has been released, the first major update of 2026. The headline new feature is GPU-based strand hair simulations (currently experimental),... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/jolt-physics-just-keeps-getting-better--bb3y6rmgb twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Jolt Physics Just Keeps Getting Better! | daily.dev og:description: Jolt Physics 5.6 has been released, the first major update of 2026. The headline new feature is GPU-based strand hair simulations (currently experimental),... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/jolt-physics-just-keeps-getting-better--bb3y6rmgb og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Bb3y6Rmgb.png og:image:alt: Jolt Physics Just Keeps Getting Better! og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Jolt Physics Just Keeps Getting Better! **[Gamefromscratch](https://daily.dev/sources/gamefromscratch)** · 9 min read · 7 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Jolt Physics 5.6 has been released, the first major update of 2026. The headline new feature is GPU-based strand hair simulations (currently experimental), built on Cosserat rods with support for hair-vs-hair collision, environment collision, and skinning to skeletal meshes. The release also introduces a new friction model that is 50% faster and uses 40% less memory, plus up to 40% performance improvements and 70% memory reductions in certain scenes. Compute shader support was added for DirectX 12, Vulkan, and Metal. On the deprecation side, UWP, ARM32, and older compilers (pre-VS2022, pre-Clang 16, pre-GCC 12) are no longer supported. Jolt is free, open source, used in AAA titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding 2, and is now the default physics engine in Godot. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What new features does Jolt Physics 5.6 add? Jolt Physics 5.6 adds experimental GPU-based strand hair simulation using Cosserat rods, a new compute shader interface with DirectX12, Vulkan, and Metal implementations, and a new friction model that is 50% faster and uses 40% less memory in one test by averaging contact points instead of favoring the first contact manifold point. It also delivers up to 40% performance improvement and up to 70% memory reduction depending on the scene. _Track physics engine releases like this one on daily.dev before locking in a game's tech stack._ ### Does Jolt Physics 5.6 still support UWP and older compilers? No, Jolt Physics 5.6 drops UWP support because Visual Studio 2026 no longer supports UWP, and it also removes ARM32 support. The engine now requires at least Visual Studio 2022, Clang 16, or GCC 12, dropping support for older compiler versions used in previous releases. _Developers planning an upgrade can follow platform requirement changes like these on daily.dev._ ### What game engines use Jolt Physics as their default physics engine? Godot uses Jolt Physics as its default physics engine, though developers can switch to alternatives if they wish. Jolt is also integrated into the Source engine, Wicked Engine, and used in commercial titles like Horizon Forbidden West, Death Stranding, and X4: Foundations, alongside numerous other open-source engines such as Nazara Engine, Neoaxis Engine, and Supernova Engine. _Comparing physics engine options for a new project is easier when tracking adoption trends on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Dev snapshot: Godot 4.7 beta 1 – Godot Engine](https://daily.dev/posts/dev-snapshot-godot-4-7-beta-1-godot-engine-tt7aynp7k) · Godot · 9 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub - jure/webphysics: WebGPU physics engine based on the AVBD solver](https://daily.dev/posts/github---jure-webphysics-webgpu-physics-engine-based-on-the-avbd-solver-xg9ikfijt) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#game-development](https://daily.dev/tags/game-development), [#c++](https://daily.dev/tags/c++), [#godot](https://daily.dev/tags/godot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/jolt-physics-just-keeps-getting-better--bb3y6rmgb) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Jolt Physics Just Keeps Getting Better!","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/jolt-physics-just-keeps-getting-better--bb3y6rmgb","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/jolt-physics-just-keeps-getting-better--bb3y6rmgb"},"datePublished":"2026-07-13T15:15:57.232Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:25:28.964Z","description":"Jolt Physics 5.6 has been released, the first major update of 2026. 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