Looks like the next Mass Effect will be made in Unreal

Job listings suggest BioWare is shifting away from Frostbite for this one.

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While the first three Mass Effect games were all made with versions of Unreal Engine 3, BioWare began using EA’s in-house Frostbite engine for all its games after that. The transition wasn’t easy—the first two Dragon Age games had been made with versions of the studio’s own Eclipse Engine, and according to Mike Laidlaw that change was whyDragon Age 2’s expansion Exalted March had to be cancelled. It’s also beenblamed for some of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s problems, due to both the extra work switching engines created and specific areas where Frostbite was lacking related to animations, map sizes, save systems, and so on.

That’s why it’s significant a producer at BioWaresignal-boosted a job listing for an associate technical directorby saying, “BioWare is hiring talented programmers with UE4/5 experience! Come, join our team and work with us on the next Mass Effect game!” Ajob listing for a franchise director(now taken down), described as “the most senior engineering lead on the next instalment in BioWare’s acclaimed Mass Effect franchise”, also included a note that “Experience with UnrealEngine4+ is an asset” even though the EA boilerplate at the top of the listing said, “Our teams drive innovation using cutting-edge tech and tools such as the Frostbite engine”.

Prolific leakerJeff Grubb claimedit’s Unreal Engine 5 specifically being used on the next Mass Effect, “And this was a choice made by the team putting the game together, which is how it should work.” TheMatrix Awakens UE5 demo was apparently quite impressive, not that I’d know since it wasn’t made available on PC.

While returning to the Unreal Engine’s loving arms wouldn’t necessarily prevent a future Mass Effect game from suffering all the problems Mass Effect: Andromeda did (it wouldn’t liven up a cast of bland companions, for instance), it probably won’t hurt. Thenext Dragon Age game is reportedly still being made with Frostbite, however, as Dragon Age: Inquisition was.

Here’s everything we know about thenext Mass Effectso far.

Thanks,WindowsCentral.

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