Mass Effect 3 confirmed to run on UE3

The next installment of the Mass Effect trilogy will be powered by Unreal Engine 3, Epic vice-president Mark Rein has said.

The popular Unreal Engine 3 has built up a sizable base of licensing support since its 2006 release. The engine stands apart from its predessesors by way of numerous capability advances, including renderer support covering several complex techniques like HDRR, per-pixel lighting and dynamic shadows.

After using it for the first two Mass Effect titles, UE3’s impressive tech has convinced Canadian studio BioWare to use it as a base for the upcoming Mass Effect 3.

“BioWare chose UE3 for the Mass Effect trilogy because they wanted to make an immersive third-person perspective shooter game with sci-fi environments,” Epic VP Mark Rein told Develop, in a feature outlining the use of the Unreal Engine in Mass Effect 2.

Elsewhere in the feature, senior vice president of EA Partners David DeMartini agreed that BioWare’s work with Unreal Engine 3 shows off the technology’s extensibility.

“Unreal Engine 3 ships with the tools and technologies we trust for making triple-A games,” he said.

“We have a great working relationship with Epic from both the development and licensee perspective, and we’re continually pleased with how they keep their game engine technology competitive, which helps us deliver the excellent quality games that EA customers expect.”

Go here to read the interview in full.