Tom Clancy's The Division Developers Show Off Their Snowdrop Engine At GDC, It Looks Amazing! (Video)

Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment Studios shows off their Snowdrop Engine at this year’s GDC. Tom Clancy: The Division game is based on this Snowdrop engine and it will be the first game that will be releasing to the market with this next gen engine. This Snowdrop engine will work only on next generation systems like Xbox One and latest PCs. Watch it in the video above, the demo looks amazing.

Go behind the scenes at Massive Entertainment – A Ubisoft Studio, and discover the power of the Snowdrop engine; Massive’s in-house answer to video game creation on the new generation of consoles. Snowdrop supports the philosophy of the studio to work better, not bigger, by giving content creators the freedom to experiment, prototype and truly unleash their creativity.

Ubisoft detailed their Snowdrop engine last year as following,

In terms of innovation, the VGX trailer teased out a few tantalizing glimpses of next-gen features. First and foremost is the destruction system, which will be a key aspect the game’s tactical cover-based combat. “We developed a very visceral and accurate destruction experience using procedural techniques,” Massive says. “The destruction effect is not pre-baked in the game; it reacts differently depending on the physical forces at play.” That means when you see glass exploding or wood shattering, it not only looks different but it is different – and it all happens in real-time. So be prepared to plan out your cover (and your attacks) accordingly!

Also intriguing is the lighting system, which is inspired by film production techniques. “If we move one object in the game, the light in the environment will immediately react accordingly, thus obtaining the most realistic effect,” Massive says. This applies not just to the indoor and outdoor lighting, but to the time of day as well. While Massive is being tight-lipped on additional details, we can’t wait to see what this means in terms of gameplay. We can easily imagine the possibilities great lighting can add to the experience, and we suspect the ambitions here go far beyond the cinematic atmosphere it’ll lend to the game.

The Snowdrop engine also offers the team unprecedented speed and accuracy when building the city itself. And, perhaps most important of all, it’s completely dynamic and unified, meaning any change or feature developed in one area of the build will trigger the change throughout the entire game, ensuring a coherent experience not just for the development team at Massive but ultimately for the gamer as well.

It’s all part of Massive’s drive to create a stunning and immersive world that’s only possible on the next-gen of consoles and PC. “Tom Clancy’s The Division has been designed specifically for and on next-gen, using our 100% next-gen Snowdrop engine,” Massive says. “This new generation of consoles has opened many new opportunities to create more immersive and dynamic worlds, and enabled us to create the universe we had envisioned for The Division.”