Unreal’s Nanite: Management and Rendering of LOD-Meshlets

Nanite, introduced with Unreal Engine 5, represents a virtualized geometry system that enables real-time rendering of extremely detailed meshes without explicit level-of-detail (LOD) generation. This paper analyzes the technical foundations of Nanite and situates the system within existing research on LOD techniques, hierarchical data structures, and GPU-driven rendering. Based on scientific literature and technical analyses, Nanite is compared to classical LOD systems with regard to performance, memory usage, visual quality, and production workflows. The results indicate that Nanite offers significant advantages for static geometry, while remaining limited in dynamic and animated scenarios, positioning it as a complementary rather than a universal replacement for traditional LOD approaches.