Overview History
Matali Physics was created in 2009 as a physics solution written entirely in C#, and dedicated for Microsoft XNA. The first complete version of the engine was released in November 2010, and it was further developed to July 2014 forming multi-platform, fully manage physics solution for .NET and Mono. In the meantime, from October 2013 to July 2014, was introduced simultaneous support for C++.
A significant change took place in July 2014 with the release of version 3.0. Managed version of the engine was abandoned, and the engine was released solely with a new native core written entirely in modern C++.
Another significant change took place in January 2018 with the release of version 4.0. The fourth major version of the engine and next updates brought the rapid development of additional modules, in particular the game framework as add-on based on physics simulation technology.
In November 2019 the fifth major version of the engine moved Matali Physics to the group of solutions supporting the three main next-generation graphics APIs: DirectX 12, Vulkan and Metal on deskop and mobile platforms.
A crucial change in the development of Matali Physics engine took place in July 2020 with the release of version 5.5. As of version 5.5, Matali Physics became an advanced 3d physics environment, and the physics engine developed so far, renamed to Matali Physics Core became the "heart" of the new environment.
The sixth major version, released in February 2023, introduced groundbreaking changes both from the technical and functional side, moving Matali Physics environment to direct game creation solutions. Matali Physics 6.0 introduced support for at least 64-bit architectures, support for next-generation graphics APIs only, music synthesizer module, behavioral animations, next-generation physics-based GUI, Matali Physics Demo replaced by Matali Physics Game, and more.
Released in October 2026, version 7.0 enhanced the "heart" of the 3d physics environment: Matali Physics Core, the 3d physics engine. Through active, regular gameplay elements, this updated environment showcased capabilities that are extremely difficult to achieve in other solutions, such as: 1) joint-free long chains using collision-only simulation; 2) deep stacks; 3) complex, unjoined mechanical physics; 4) high-speed vehicles as plain rigid bodies connected constraints with functional suspension; 5) teleporters placed on or inside objects in motion; 6) complex objects, including vehicles being held, while passing through teleporters; 7) long thin objects, especially cylinders; 8) floating fluid surfaces and volumes. Matali Physics 7.0 highlighted support for emergent gameplay and emergent behaviors, the large-scale introduction of dust modeling using rigid particles, and demonstrated stable behavior of complex systems of bodies with different buoyancies within fluid volumes, as well as the all-inclusive nature of the 3d physics environment. Furthermore, version 7.0 shifted to exclusive support for Apple Silicon-based Macs and expanded support for the ARM64 architecture.
Currently, Matali Physics is intensively developed as an advanced, modern, multi-platform, high-performance 3d physics environment that integrates physics simulation, graphics, sound and music into one total multimedia solution where creating complex interactions and behaviors is common and relatively easy.
Release dates:
- 2026/10/26 - Matali Physics 7.0.0.0
- Common to all modulesNew features:•Comprehensive support for Android 17 and Android Studio 2026.1.3+
•Comprehensive support for macOS Golden Gate (version 27.x) and Xcode 27+
•Comprehensive support for iPadOS 27.x
•Comprehensive support for iOS 27.x
•Comprehensive support for tvOS 27.x
•Comprehensive support for Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) April 2026 and a new project layout for the x64 architecture
•Comprehensive support for Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) April 2026 and a new project layout for the ARM64 architecture
•Comprehensive support for Windows 10/11 for the ARM64 architecture
•Comprehensive support for FreeBSD and Linux for the ARM64 architecture
•Comprehensive support for Visual Studio 2026
•Comprehensive support for SteamOS 3.8+ and Steam Linux Runtime 4.0+
•Comprehensive support for Ubuntu/Kubuntu 26.04, where the runtime environment strictly enforces the Wayland security model, and the complete removal of X11 sessions means that any flaws in the Wayland protocol implementation will immediately prevent the application from running correctly
•Comprehensive support for Apache NetBeans 31+ and the Modern CMake Layout project structure
•Comprehensive support for Visual Studio Code for Linux and *BSD platforms
•Comprehensive support for high-performance batch building with CMake on Linux and *BSD platforms
•Cross-IDE compatibility allowing projects for Apache NetBeans 31+ to be opened in other environments like Visual Studio CodeImproved features:•Support for WaylandOther changes:•New minimum requirements for supported platforms: FreeBSD 15.1+
•New minimum requirements for supported development platforms: FreeBSD 15.1+, macOS Sequoia 15.6+
•New minimum requirements for supported IDEs: Visual Studio Code 1.138+, Android Studio 2026.1.3+, Xcode 26.3+
•Visual Studio Code is becoming the primary development tool for Linux and *BSD platforms
•Non-Apple Silicon-based Macs are no longer supported
•Corrected API documentation in the CHM file format
•General optimizationMatali GamesNew features:•Advanced examples of dust modeling using rigid particles
•Advanced examples of joint-free long chains using collision-only simulation
•Advanced examples of deep stacks
•Advanced examples of high-speed vehicles as plain rigid bodies connected constraints with functional suspension
•Advanced examples of teleporters placed on or inside objects in motion
•Advanced examples of complex objects, including vehicles being held, while passing through teleporters
•Advanced example of simulating helicopter rotor blades as a multibody system where the individual parts of the blade are connected by the natural constraints
•Advanced example of simulating complex systems of bodies with different buoyancies within fluid volumes
•Advanced example of complex, unjoined mechanical physics
•Advanced example of long thin objects, especially cylinders
•Advanced example of floating fluid surfaces and volumesImproved features:•Character controllers
•Vehicle controllers
•Cursor handling
•Switching between multiple cameras
•Flashlight mode
•Construction of some physics objects (better physical parameters, layout and more)
•All physics scene examplesOther changes:•Optimized projects for all supported platformsMatali Physics CoreImproved features:•Processing of physics objects
•Discrete and continuous collision detection
•Support for lights, shadows and fogs
•Support for selected motion characteristics of object
•Support for physics-driven sound
•Support for fluid surfaces
•Support for fluid volumes
•Constraints
•Selected controllers
•User data
•Multithreading
•Serialization/deserializationOther changes:•Improved engine core
•Names and in some cases parameters of selected methodsMatali RenderImproved features:•Support for DirectX 12
•Support for Vulkan API
•Support for Metal APIMatali SoundImproved features:•Sound processing
If you are looking for information about future releases of Matali Physics, check out our roadmap for the environment.