Frostbite (game engine)

Frostbite

Battlefield 1 built on Frostbite 3
Developer(s)	DICE
Initial release	June 2008 (2008-06)
Written in	C++, C#
Platform	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch Stadia
License	Proprietary
Website	www.frostbite.com

Frostbite is a game engine developed by DICE, designed for cross-platform use on Microsoft Windows, seventh generation game consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, eighth generation game consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and ninth generation game consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The game engine was originally employed in the Battlefield video game series, but would later be expanded to other first-person shooter video games and a variety of other genres. To date, Frostbite has been exclusive to video games published by Electronic Arts.

History

Frostbite 1 and 1.5

Destruction in Battlefield: Bad Company on Frostbite 1

The first iteration of the Frostbite game engine made its debut in the 2008 video game, Battlefield: Bad Company. The engine was developed with an HDR Audio and Destruction 1.0. HDR Audio allowed differing sound levels to be perceived by the player whilst Destruction 1.0 allowed players to destroy the environment. A newer version of Frostbite would later be employed in Battlefield 1943 (2009) and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010), which would come to be known as Frostbite 1.5. In the upgraded game engine, it was now possible for players to cause enough destruction to entirely demolish structures. This version was also employed in the multiplayer aspect of Medal of Honor (2010), becoming the first video game outside of the Battlefield series to run on Frostbite.

Frostbite 2

On 25 October 2011, Frostbite 2 made its debut in Battlefield 3. Also making its debut was Destruction 3.0, which made falling debris potentially lethal to the player. Further changes to the engine included the addition of suppressive fire and disabling vehicles before destroying them. For the first time in a game that was not a shooter nor developed by DICE, Frostbite was employed in Need for Speed: The Run, which was released on 15 November. It took a year for EA Black Box, the developer of Need for Speed: The Run, to re-purpose the game engine for driving instead of shooting. On 21 May 2012, DICE rendering architect Johan Andersson said that future personal computer video games running on Frostbite would have to be played on 64-bit operating systems. On 23 October, Medal of Honor: Warfighter became the first game of its series to feature Frostbite in both single and multiplayer. On 26 March 2013, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel became the first third-person shooter and last video game to employ Frostbite 2.

Frostbite 3

In March 2013, Battlefield executive producer Patrick Bach announced that Frostbite 3 would not support the Wii U, saying that "the Wii U is not a part of our focus right now." The third generation of Frostbite made its debut in Battlefield 4 on 29 October. In the updated engine, the environments became much more dynamic upon the actions of the players and Destruction 4.0, which was known as Levolution in Battlefield 4. On one map of Battlefield 4, it was possible for players to destroy a dam, causing the entire map to be flooded by water. On 13 November in San Jose, Andersson announced that future Frostbite games and an updated version of Battlefield 4 would be powered by Mantle, a low-overhead rendering API co-developed by AMD and DICE. On 15 November, Need for Speed Rivals became the second game of its series to use the game engine and the first since the upgrade to Frostbite 3.

First released on 19 August 2014, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare became the first game of its series to run on Frostbite. On 18 November, the game engine made its debut in the action role-playing genre of video games with Dragon Age: Inquisition. On 17 March 2015, Battlefield Hardline became the second game of its series to run on Frostbite 3. On 14 July, the game engine was introduced to the sports genre of video games, being put to use on Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. In November, Need for Speed and Star Wars Battlefront were both released under Frostbite.

On 23 February 2016, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 was released on the game engine. On 7 June, Mirror's Edge Catalyst became the first action-adventure game to run on Frostbite. On 27 September, the game engine debuted on the FIFA video game series, being employed on FIFA 17. On 21 October, Battlefield 1 became the third title of its series to be released under the third generation of the game engine. On 21 March 2017, Mass Effect: Andromeda was released on Frostbite. Madden NFL 18, the first of its series to be released on Frostbite, was released on 25 August 2017. On 29 September, FIFA 18 was released on the game engine, but the Nintendo Switch version of the game and its subsequent installments will not run on Frostbite. On 10 November, Need for Speed Payback was released, running on the game engine. On 17 November, Star Wars Battlefront II was the last game of 2017 to be released on Frostbite. Battlefield V is running on the Frostbite 3 engine.

In 2019, sources within BioWare claimed that Frostbite's complexity contributed to difficulties surrounding Anthem's development.

In February 2021, following the announcement of a Nintendo Switch version of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, Frostbite will run on a Nintendo console for the first time.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S versions of FIFA 21, released December 4, 2020, feature graphical enhancements to take advantage of the newer hardware. So far, FIFA 21 is one of two Frostbite games to receive major enhancements for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, with Star Wars: Squadrons receiving support for high frame rates and 4K, alongside visual improvements. It has been rumored that 2021's installment of the NHL series, NHL 22, will run on Frostbite, bringing it to that series for the first time.

The upcoming installment in the Battlefield series, Battlefield 2042, will use the Frostbite engine.

List of games

Title	Earliest release	Developer	Version	Platforms
				Win	PS3	PS4	X360	XOne	NS	Stadia
Anthem	22 February 2019	BioWare	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel	26 May 2013	Visceral Games	2.0	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield 1	21 October 2016	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Battlefield 3	25 October 2011	EA Digital Illusions CE	2.0	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield 4	29 October 2013	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Battlefield V	20 November 2018	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Battlefield 1943	8 July 2009	EA Digital Illusions CE	1.5	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield 2042	23 October 2021	EA Digital Illusions CE	TBA	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Battlefield: Bad Company	23 June 2008	EA Digital Illusions CE	1.0	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield: Bad Company 2	2 March 2010	EA Digital Illusions CE	1.5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam	18 December 2010	EA Digital Illusions CE	1.5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Battlefield Hardline	21 March 2015	Visceral Games	3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Command & Conquer	Cancelled	Victory Games	3.0	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Dragon Age: Inquisition	18 November 2014	BioWare	3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
FIFA 17	27 September 2016	EA Vancouver	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
FIFA 18	29 September 2017	EA Vancouver	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
FIFA 19	28 September 2018	EA Vancouver	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
FIFA 20	24 September 2019	EA Vancouver	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
FIFA 21	9 October 2020	EA Vancouver	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Madden NFL 18	25 August 2017	EA Tiburon	3.0	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Madden NFL 19	9 August 2018	EA Tiburon	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Madden NFL 20	2 August 2019	EA Tiburon	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Madden NFL 21	28 August 2020	EA Tiburon	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Mass Effect: Andromeda	21 March 2017	BioWare	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Medal of Honor (multiplayer)	12 October 2010	EA Digital Illusions CE	1.5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Medal of Honor: Warfighter	23 October 2012	Danger Close Games	2.0	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Mirror's Edge Catalyst	7 June 2016	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Need for Speed	3 November 2015	Ghost Games	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Need for Speed Heat	8 November 2019	Ghost Games	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Need for Speed Payback	10 November 2017	Ghost Games	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Need for Speed Rivals	15 November 2013	Ghost Games	3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Need for Speed: Edge	10 December 2017	EA Spearhead	3.0	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Need for Speed: The Run	15 November 2011	EA Black Box	2.0	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville	18 October 2019	PopCap Games	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare	25 February 2014	PopCap Games	3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2	23 February 2016	PopCap Games	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour	14 July 2015	EA Tiburon	3.0	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Shadow Realms	Cancelled	BioWare	3.0	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Star Wars Battlefront	17 November 2015	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Star Wars Battlefront II	17 November 2017	EA Digital Illusions CE	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Star Wars: Squadrons	2 October 2020	Motive Studios	3.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No

External links

• Frostbite's Official Homepage
• Frostbite Rendering Architecture
• DICE Publications
• DICE's Official Homepage