DICE plans to adapt its Frostbite engine for additional platforms

DICE, the studio behind the Battlefield franchise, is looking toward the future.

DICE, the studio behind the Battlefield franchise, is looking toward the future.

During a session at Swedish start-up news site BreakIt’s inaugural Game Tech conference, CEO Oskar Gabrielson spoke about the future of the video game industry, as well as some key areas of focus for the studio.

One of the CEO’s key messages was that games are entering a democratization process “like film and television.” Citing the impact of 5G technology, which will drastically reduce any amount of latency experienced by users, Gabrielson believes that gaming will be completely cloud-based in the future.

For DICE, the potential of 5G and cloud gaming means that it will be adapting to the new technology by making sure its Frostbite engine can be used across multiple different consoles and platforms.

“In a world where streaming games becomes possible, you won’t need to own a PlayStation or a phone,” Gabrielson said. “You’ll be able to play on any platform, anywhere, and at any time.”

5G is in the process of being rolled out gradually across select areas in the world, and gaming has been used as one of the main benchmarks for the technology. During a test in Australia, a local phone carrier, Telstra, flew in professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players from Chiefs Gaming to play on its 5G network. The players experienced five to six milliseconds worth of latency at the most.

Gabrielson said the studio will also be taking a different approach in how it’ll focus on its games post-release. Rather than adhering to prioritizing sales in the first few weeks, DICE will be moving its focus toward extending the longevity of its games.

“We have to start developing games that will be successful for years to come, instead of shifting our focus towards the next project as soon as our games are released,” Gabrielson said.