From what I understand after reading the documentation, as of now you can’t add or remove actors from a Data Layer at runtime. Data Layers are mainly designed as an editor-side tool for organization and streaming. Actor membership is defined there and baked into the level.
At runtime the only thing you can control is the state of a layer (activate, load, unload).
In the official Data Layers docs (UE 5.4), Epic clearly lists two types of functions:
- Editor : Add Actor to Data Layer, Remove Actor from Data Layer, etc.
- Runtime : Set/Get Data Layer Runtime State, Get Data Layer Instances, etc.
If what you’re looking for is to have actors “switch groups” dynamically, a much more flexible alternative is Gameplay Tags.
- Unlike Data Layers, tags can be added or removed at runtime.
- They let you dynamically group actors and then decide what to do with that group (hide them, disable collision, apply effects, etc.).
- Keep in mind that Gameplay Tags don’t handle world streaming or visibility like Data Layers , they’re a logic system (hide, disable, trigger effects, etc.), not a content loading system.
And if what you need is to manage large sets of actors or entire sections of a map, it’s also worth considering Level Streaming. With sublevels you can load and unload entire chunks of content based on game logic — not only for large open worlds, but also for structuring missions, phases, or cinematic setups where whole sets of actors need to appear or disappear together.
I also left several posts and the documentation for you to take a look at
Hope it helps!