DICE recently revealed that it is developing more than 15 titles using its next-gen generation Frostbite 3 engine. There are a ton of titles that have already been announced which use Frostbite 3, which includes Need for Speed: Rivals, Mass Effect 4, Battlefield 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Wars: Battlefront and the Mirror’s Edge reboot. However, there are plenty of other titles that will look to utilize the power of Frostbite 3, for both the current and next generation.
Visceral Games’ Star Wars Title
When it was announced that EA would be exclusively developing and publishing games based on the Star Wars license, the news also came about that internal studios DICE, Visceral Games and Bioware would be working on a title each. Each game would use Frostbite 3, and while we’ve seen DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront, we’re yet to find out what Visceral Games is working on. Maybe a next-generation Republic Commando? How about a resurrection of Star Wars 1313? Hopefully it’s not a sequel to The Force Unleashed – seriously, what the hell happened with the second game? – but at this point, we wouldn’t mind a psychological horror action title that explores the darker regions of the Star Wars universe. Speaking of horror…
Despite stories of EA being disappointed with the franchise and subsequently pulling the plug on the same, Dead Space is still very much alive. How long will it be before Isaac Clarke returns again to face the latest round of unimagined and repulsive horrors that the Markers inflict? For that matter, will there be a brand new protagonist this time around, exploring a new far-flung region with Necromorphs inhabiting? The ending to Dead Space 3’s Awakened DLC certainly indicated that there are enough space zombies to go around. Expect Dead Space to be revived for the next-generation, though when it will be revealed remains to be seen.
The Battlefield: Bad Company team has been on a long vacation since the release of the second game…or so EA and DICE would have us believe. It’s no secret that there’s a demand for the game to return, especially since the last two installments in the Battlefield franchise have been core titles. Now that DICE has had enough time to familiarize itself with next-gen consoles and Battlefield 4 is finally released, is it any stretch to guess that the next Battlefield game could very well be Bad Company 3, powered by Frostbite 3?
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
While it may seem surprising that PopCap Games first person/third person shooter tower defence hybrid would need the power of Frostbite 3 to realize its vision, we can’t say we mind having the engine powering Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. From tons of zombies on screen, a variety of plants attacking at once, huge bosses, airstrikes, the disco zombies and cartoonish albeit highly detailed environments, Garden Warfare looks like a blast. Interestingly, as far as next-gen consoles go, it will only be available on the Xbox One despite making an appearance on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 as well. How will Frostbite 3 benefit from the Xbox One’s power in this case? We’ll need to wait and find out.
If you had told any Knights of the Old Republic fan that Bioware might be working on a Star Wars-related title in the near future, the excitement would have been palpable. Granted, Bioware DID work on a KOTOR title which ended up being the MMORPG The Old Republic, which failed to click despite its large budget and scope. But it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a true follow-up in the series, continuing the legacy of Revan and unlocking more of the mystery behind the Sith. The thought of Bioware creating a next-generation Knights of the Old Republic using Frostbite 3? Now that’s something we can get behind. Even if it turned out to be something else – perhaps a brand new RPG franchise –we’d still be excited. The point is, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect 4 might be the cat’s pyjamas but Bioware Star Wars titles will always have the Force.
Which other games do you believe are in production and use the Frostbite 3 engine? Which games do you wish to see in the coming years from EA using the same? Let us know in the comments below.