EA hopes Frostbite Go will push mobile boundaries

EA is hoping to further push the boundaries of what’s possible on mobile platforms through its new game engine Frostbite Go.

The tech is set to debut this year through Battlefield 4’s Commander Mode, which gives mobile users an overview of the game map and also allows players to call in gunship and missile strikes.

Speaking to IGN, EA Games Label EVP Patrick Soderlund said he felt the developer could push the boundaries of mobile platforms as much as it had done on console and PC.

“There’s obviously a longer term goal with Frostbite Go,” said Soderlund.

“We think that we can push the boundaries on mobile as much as we’re pushing the boundaries on console and PC in the long term. So this is the first Go – version 1.0. Versions 2 and 3 we’re going to start making games on Frostbite Go that will be featuring things that you’ve seen in the regular Frostbite code, like destruction and those types of things. We think we can do something dramatic there, with the mobile sector, and make real games on those machines.”

Soderlund added that Frostbite Go essentially uses the same code base as Frostbite, which is powering Battlefield 4 and Dragon Age: Inquisition, but uses a different rendering solution and a few other mobile specific-features.

"It’s just a natural evolution. iPhones, tablets, Android phones are becoming a natural way for us to connect with our games, so we need to support it,” he said.

“We looked at other external technologies, [but] we had a bunch of guys that convinced me that building Frostbite Go was a good idea, so that’s what we’re doing.”