The three-loop splitting functions in QCD

We have computed the next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) contributions to the evolution of unpolarized parton distributions in perturbative QCD [1,2]. Here we briefly recall why this huge computation was necessary and outline how it was performed. We discuss the end-point limits of our results which include the three-loop cusp anomalous dimensions of the Wilson lines. The numerical impact of the new contributions is illustrated.