14 DAY TRIAL // The Frostbite 2 game engine, which is being used for the already launched Battlefield 3 and will also power the coming Medal of Honor: Warfighter, was initially designed to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of next-generation consoles.
Patrick Soderlund, who is the executive vice president in charge of racing and shooter development and formerly served as the leader of DICE, has told Gamasutra that, “Yeah, I’ll be honest with you – Frostbite 2 was built for the next generation. That’s how we started it.”
He added, “We had that in mind and we said, ‘We’re going to have to build something that can scale.’ It doesn’t mean that what you see in Battlefield 3 is the end state.
“That’s the beginning; that’s where we start and then we go forward. But we have a tech base that makes me feel really confident in how we’re positioned for what’s going to come in the future.”
It seems that the Frostbite 2 engine could have been even more impressive from a technical standpoint, but the developers at DICE, working with the teams that would then use it, decided to make sure that it was oriented towards gameplay rather than simple performance.
Patrick Soderlund also says that Electronic Arts is not forcing any of its teams to use Frostbite 2.
Danger Close, the company in charge of Warfighter, chose to use it because of its animation and sound tech and because it allowed for quick integration of other features, such as an evolved social element.
Criterion is also using Frostbite 2 for their rebooted Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which is one of the most impressive games I have seen at E3 this year.
Neither Sony nor Microsoft has announced official plans about the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox 720, but analysts expect to see the devices out before the end of next year.