Bioware using Frostbite 2 for next Mass Effect

Bioware is already gearing up for the next installment in the Mass Effect franchise - currently titled... Well we don't know what it is titled. Presumably something like Mass Effect: New Eden or Mass Effect: Other Relevant Subtitle, as the Mass Effect trilogy finished at the beginning of this year with the divisive Mass Effect 3. Or maybe they'll follow Halo and go with Mass Effect 4 just for the heck of it. We just don't know.




What we do know however, is that development has moved to Bioware Montreal - who worked on Mass Effect 2 and 3 and their DLC. The game will also use the Frostbite 2.0 engine, like every EA game seems to be doing these days. The previous games in the series used a modified Unreal Engine, but Bioware Montreal's Yanick Roy explained in a blog post that the engine change was a part of the overall shift of the series with its next installment:

While it will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts. You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.

As for what else we know about the next Mass Effect, that's actually about it. You won't be playing as Shepard, or a Shepard-a-like and the game will tell a different story to the trilogy. Casey Hudson - the Executive Producer on the Mass Effect games - is actually looking for suggestions, if his Twitter feed is anything to go by. What would you like to see in the new Mass Effect? Would you prefer a follow on from the events of the trilogy, or something set before or during Shepard's timeline? Let us know in the comments below!