BioWare has confirmed that the next Mass Effect will use a version of DICE’s Frostbite engine. In a blog post on BioWare’s official site, BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy noted that the game “will be built with the amazing technology of Frostbite as its foundation” and that it will be “enhanced by many of the systems that the Dragon Age III team has already spent a lot of time building.”

It’s worth noting that Roy doesn’t mention Frostbite 2 specifically, suggesting that this could be a next generation version of the engine. Roy also mentioned that the game “will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games,” but that “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.” However, “you can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.”

Roy added that Casey Hudson will remain executive producer, “but he will have a Project Director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game.” With the “core” of the team in place, Roy writes that “the next step for us is to have the BioWare Montreal studio grow at an accelerated pace over the next year as we build a team large enough to support the production of what we know is going to be an amazing game in the franchise.” As such, BioWare Montreal is currently hiring for positions including artists, designers, animators, programmers and a development manager.

Last week, Hudson said the next Mass Effect is in the “early stages” of production and asked what fans would like to see included. Previously, BioWare hinted that the game will go somewhere new and said it won’t star a character similar to Shepard.

While we don’t know much about the sequel yet, check out five of our ideas for where the series could go next.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

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